My story is a little different as to why I had a Total Gastrectomy. July 1st, 2016 was when I had the emergency procedure. When I was a teenager (I am now 26) I was very overweight and tried everything under the moon. Once I was 18 as a last resort I turned to and...
My story begins in the Spring 2007 with my first symptoms. I first started to feel an increased amount of fatigue and was having small amounts of pain while swallowing food. Occasional reflux sent me to my primary care physician where he initially diagnosed as stress...
My cancer journey started in 2010 when I was diagnosed with DCIS breast cancer. I had a mastectomy and 13 months of Herceptin treatments then several reconstruction surgeries that followed. I thought my cancer experience was over until April 30, 2018 when I was...
This photo came up on my Facebook news feed today. It was taken 8 years ago, almost exactly one week before I found out I had stomach cancer and my life was about to change forever. Knowing what I know now, what would I go back and tell my past self? So I decided to...
As I get older and being a survivor of Gastric Cancer and dealing with the ripple effects from treatments, it’s an ongoing battle not to be taken lightly. Words can never convey the depth of my gratitude at the second chance for life on so many levels but the quality...
I’m glad to be a part of this wonderful group of survivors. I’m wondering if I might be one of the longest-running on this journey, at 61. At age 32, in 1990, I was diagnosed with stage 3+ adenocarcinoma of the stomach. At that time, the CDH1 genetic mutation my...