I had abdominal pain that I felt hungry and burning pains all the time. I took everything under the sun to try to fix it. I took Protonix, Nexium, and Pepcid and numerous heartburn medications. Nothing worked. I finally visited my Primary Care Physician and he thought I had a bleeding ulcer. It took a few weeks of testing to figure out what the real problem was.
I waited for the biopsy results to come back. The doctor said it would be a week but the same doctor called the very next day. I knew it was bad right to begin with. The doctor said I had to have additional doctor appointments and knew deep down inside that he knew something. I asked him just to be completely honest with me. He was silent for about 10 seconds and said….”I’m sorry ma’am, you have gastric cancer.”
The day was June 28, 2007. A doctor told me I was diagnosed with Gastric Cancer. Its very rare in this case since I am so young. The statistics prove I am less then 1% of the overall gastric cancer diagnosis in the world. Most people that have gastric cancer are mostly over 55 years of age. Therefore that is why I am so special. Just kidding.
I knew from that day forward that I will fight this for the rest of my life. I will become a survivor. I hung up the phone and I screamed at the TOP OF MY LUNGS. So hard in fact that I thought I was going to pass out. A few minutes later my friend was on her way over to swim and hang out at the pool. I had to tell her then. She came in with her dog and I couldn’t even look at her. I played with her dog and she asked me what was wrong. My friend Amy knew something was wrong. So I told her. She was the very first person I told. We cried together for quite a while and waited for my husband to come home.
My life was turned upside down overnight. I didn’t know what to do. Cancer has historically run in my family, including my cousin who was 21 at the time. He eventually did pass away from liver cancer. What I could not understand was that I am 27 years old, a little overweight, but overall pretty healthy. Why was this happening to me? Why? I could not make any sense of it and sometimes I still cannot.
The next day after the diagnosis, the medical staff recommended that I have immediate surgery to remove my stomach and start chemo and radiation therapies as soon as possible. The doctor that recommended I start these treatments was very rude and straightforward as my Primary Care Physician was out of town. Zero compassion came out of this lady. It was as if she was reading a report, not changing a life forever. I left the appointment feeling completely numb and in shock.
