Woman "Cut in Half" to Save Her Life

Janis Ollson, a Canadian woman who was "cut in half" about three years ago, appeared on the Today Show earlier Friday. Ollson, who used to suffer from a form of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma, underwent a groundbreaking surgery years ago, in which doctors removed her leg, her lower spine, and half of her pelvis. The surgery was a medical first -- before doctors performed the risky operation on Ollson, the procedure had only ever been performed on cadavers. Surgeons from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, basically cut Ollson's lower body in half and then put it back together again. According to the story from People.com, "Her one good leg was reattached to her body using bone from the amputated leg, a technique known as a "pogo stick" rebuild." Ollson was also pregnant during the operation, which made the risky operation only riskier. Roughly three years after the operation, Ollson is now cancer-free and happy that she decided to go through with the surgery. "I knew my options were either do the surgery or certain death," said Ollson during the interview. "So I knew I had to do the surgery... Recovery has been long and slow. We've been continually moving forward." (Sources: People.com)