By Josh Friesen
For what he thinks could be the last time, Matthew Ross gets behind the camera.
Then he sits down in front of it.
“Well, I thought I should do a quick check-in before surgery,” he says. “I’m not ready to die. So, I’ve been fighting. Going into surgery. Here we go — into the unknown. I’ll see you guys on the other side.”
It was December 2023, and Ross was mentally preparing to undergo hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. The goal of the specialized procedure? To treat his appendix cancer, which had spread aggressively into other parts of his abdomen.
Ross had been diagnosed with cancer just four months prior. A week after that diagnosis, Ross, a Portland filmmaker, began documenting his experience through the lens of his 16mm camera. Every significant moment of his health journey, he captured on video. The feature-length documentary film, “Into the Unknown,” is the culmination of Ross’ efforts, a vulnerable, poignant glimpse into his life as he navigated diagnosis, treatment, mortality and purpose.
But as he sat in front of his camera just days away from surgery, Ross wasn’t sure if he was filming himself for the last time or if there would be more of his story left to tell.
“Literally up until the day before my surgery, I was editing,” he said. “I told my friends, ‘If I die during surgery, add the credits and release the cut. Obviously, I trust OHSU and I trust the hell out of Dr. Sood, but at the same time, you just don’t know.”
Ross first met Divya Sood, M.D., a surgical oncologist at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and an assistant professor of surgery (surgical oncology) in the OHSU School of Medicine, two days after being diagnosed. But between finding out he had cancer and meeting Sood, Ross was frantic with worry.
“It was two days of pretty intense panic,” he said. “The second I talked to Dr. Sood, it was just calm. I had someone with answers. And when she didn’t have answers, she was calming my nerves. From that point on, I’ve been in her hands. I have this rare appendix cancer — how lucky am I that there’s this specialist 15 minutes from my house?”
Initially, Ross was diagnosed with high-risk Stage 2 appendix cancer, and Sood planned to remove it surgically. The caveat: If she saw during surgery that the cancer had spread beyond the appendix, they would have to pivot to a more invasive option. It didn’t take long for Sood to realize Ross’ cancer had spread and was more advanced than anyone had thought. It was Stage 4.
The only option left, it was determined, was HIPEC surgery.
“The second I talked to Dr. Sood, it was just calm. I had someone with answers. … I have this rare appendix cancer — how lucky am I that there’s this specialist 15 minutes from my house?”
Matthew Ross
HIPEC is a two-step treatment. The first step involves a cytoreductive surgery to remove the larger tumors. The second step fills the abdomen with a heated liquid chemotherapy to treat and kill any residual microscopic cancer cells remaining. Sood is an expert in the procedure, and the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute is one of two health care centers on the West Coast that offers the treatment.
Ross’ surgery was a success. Soon after, he began a chemotherapy regimen to kill any lingering cancer cells. Three months after that, his scans showed no signs of cancer.
Throughout the whole process, Ross continued to film and edit his documentary. The creative process helped him contextualize his illness and provided an outlet he could pour his focus into. “Into the Unknown” premiered in March 2025 at the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival in Sebastopol, California, and won the Audience Award for Best Feature Film at the 2025 Eastern Oregon Film Festival. Before its premiere, Ross held a private screening for family and friends at the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland.
Sood was in the audience.
“She had the confidence of, ‘Hey, we have this plan. We’re going to do this. And if there’s more cancer, we have another plan. But we don’t have to worry about that, because we’re here,’” Ross said. “At the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, there was just this level of comfort that I felt, which was so nice and felt so important.”
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