Stage III Gastric Cancer: Holly's Patient Story
This gastric cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Sex
- Female
- Spread to
- pleural fluid
- Treatment
- surgery and palliative care
- Outcome
- Care Ongoing
Treatment course, step by step
- She underwent gastrectomy in May 2019.
- After cancer cells were found in fluid around her lungs, she went home with hospice care in June 2019.
What happened, in summary
Holly Clegg was a cookbook author and culinary expert who had spent years helping people eat well during cancer treatment. On August 8, 2018, after only 5 days of symptoms, she was diagnosed with stomach cancer despite having no known risk factors. She recalled hearing Stage III or Stage IV at diagnosis.
Her doctors proposed 8 rounds of oxaliplatin and fluorouracil, heated chemotherapy in the abdomen, and gastrectomy. Her goal was to become eligible for surgery. In May 2019, Holly underwent gastrectomy. Five days later, cancer cells were found in the fluid around her lungs.
Holly went home with hospice support in June 2019. She continued sharing her experience and used her public platform to support other people facing gastric cancer. Her family created a gastric-cancer research fund at MD Anderson Cancer Center, which had raised $280,000 by September 20, 2019.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by No Stomach For Cancer. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer