I was diagnosed with stomach cancer in July of 2024. As a 46-year-old mother of 4 children, a cancer diagnosis is paralyzing. My doctor was hopeful it was caught early, so a plan was set in place to do 4 chemo treatments, followed by surgery to remove my stomach, and then 4 more chemo treatments. They asked me to come in for a PET scan and I was scheduled to start chemo as soon as my port was placed.
On my first day of chemo I was physically, mentally and emotionally prepared to start my fight. In fact, I was determined to win. However, when we arrived at Mayo, I was informed that the PET scan showed a small spot on my liver that was almost indetectable. This change of information took me from early-stage diagnosis to the dreaded stage 4, incurable, cancer patient. There are no words to describe the rush of feelings felt when you are told you have incurable cancer. At that point, all plans were cancelled, and I was scheduled for a liver biopsy. The liver biopsy results were negative for cancer, but we all knew there was a pretty big chance the spot was missed during the biopsy, due to its small size. However, this allowed us to proceed with our original plan.
After my first 4 chemo treatments of FLOT a new scan showed significant improvement. Because I was tolerating the chemo decently, and it was working, I was asked to complete the remaining 4 chemo treatments before the surgery as well. I finished my last chemo on December 18th, and my total gastrectomy was scheduled for January 22nd. We did one final scan the week prior to my surgery, and the scan did not look good. This new scan showed possible spread to my breast and distant lymph nodes. I had a mammogram done that day and my results were clear. My oncologist and surgeon agreed to let me move on to surgery since we would be removing distant lymph nodes anyway.
January 22, 2025, I went back to Mayo in Jacksonville, FL and had my entire stomach removed. It was a long surgery and when I woke up, I felt pain like I had never felt before. I stayed in the hospital for 10 days as I recovered. Towards the end of my stay my pathology report came back stating there were no cancer cells found anywhere in my stomach or the 28 lymph nodes that were removed. This was a complete miracle but deep down inside I was still concerned about the spot that had once been seen on my liver.
On April 22nd I had my first post-surgery scan. Unfortunately, my vacation from being on treatment came to a quick end. My new scan showed 8 tiny spots on my liver. We decided to wait a few weeks to start treatment so I could have more time to heal from my total gastrectomy surgery and adjust to my new insides. The 2-month break from treatments and doctor appointments was like a vacation. I got to spend quality time with my family, and I was able to find myself again during that time. I am now currently receiving Folfiri chemo and Opdivo immunotherapy every other week for the unforeseeable future. I am praying that my treatments will keep me stable and more advancements will be made in stomach cancer in the near future.
This is the basic story of my journey. However, this section of my blog contains more detailed posts about life with cancer, my surgery, living without a stomach, finding hope in a dark time, updates on my cancer and so much more. I hope you'll follow along!! I am determined to beat this beast and hope that my story will inspire someone else in their journey!
