157: genetic testing helped stacy martin survive gastric cancer | prophylactic total gastrectomy

Stacy Martin says genetic testing saved her life.   The testing indicated she had the CDH1 mutation.  The mutation gave her an 80 percent chance of getting gastric cancer and a 60 percent chance of breast cancer.  She opted for a prophylactic total gastrectomy to remove her stomach and addressed the possibility of breast cancer with a bilateral mastectomy.  Without a stomach, Stacy has had to change the way she eats, requiring food every two hours, and having to completely chew everything she eats.  Despite this live-changing surgery, Stacy is leading a healthy and happy life.   Unlike most people with cancer, Stacy's diagnosis was not preceded by symptoms.  Her mother had already been diagnosed with Stage IV uterin cancer.  That prompted Stacy and her siblings to undergo a genetic panel test.  It revealed Stacy had the CDH1 mutation, which meant she an 80 percent chance of getting gastric cancer and a 60 percent chance of breast cancer.    She had three options but chose to be proactive with a prophylactic total gastrectomy in 2019, a procedure that removed her stomach.  It was after the surgery that pathology revealed Stacy had gastric cancer in her removed stomach.    After successfully addressing the possibility of stomach cancer, she did the same with breast cancer with a bilateral mastectomy in 2020.   Stacy Martin said the toughest part of her cancer experience wasn't the treatment, but what she dealt with upon its completion.  She said she had to learn how to eat, and that without a stomach, she had to eat every two hours.  While she took snacks with her wherever she went, she had to alternate between snacks and something more substantial, making sure she got enough protein and carbohydrates.  Anything she ate had to be completely chewed because she no longer had the gastric juices in her stomach that break down food.  The only thing she can't eat are raw oysters because she says they are impossible to chew.   Stacy says genetic testing saved her life but admits it is not for everybody because the decision to go forth with such testing is a deeply personal decision because some people don't want to know what the tests could reveal. Despite her cancer journey, Stacy lives a happy life.  She resumed her passion of hiking near her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and consumption of nuts resulted in her establishing Seahorse Snacks, which she operates out of her home.   Additional Resources:   Seahorse Snacks: https://www.seahorsesnacks.com   No Stomach For Cancer: https://www.nostomachforcancer.org