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The second of two sisters from a family affected by stomach, colorectal, and breast cancer tested positive for a CDH1 mutation in early 2016. The women were ages 31 and 34 when they faced the decision together. Because reliable screening for hereditary diffuse gastric cancer was limited, specialists recommended preventive surgery.
She and her sister underwent total gastrectomy on the same day, May 24, 2016. Pathology returned 1 week later and found Stage I hereditary diffuse gastric cancer in both stomachs. The finding came despite no outward symptoms and an endoscopy with more than 40 biopsies that had been negative 1 month earlier.
She later described weight loss, changed eating habits, and personal recovery hurdles. The sisters remained focused on their 3 sons, who each had a 50% chance of carrying the family mutation, and on improving future screening options.
This is a lay summary of an account first published by No Stomach For Cancer. Read the original in full
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