Donna Martin, a mother in the UK, is one of the first people in the country to elect to have surgery to remove her stomach after discovering that she carries a rare gene for diffuse stomach cancer, even though she is currently cancer-free.

Physicians offered her the prophylactic surgery after discovering that she was carrying an extremely rare gene known as CDH1, which gives her a 70% chance of developing diffuse stomach cancer. She has already lost her mother and brother to the disease. Diffuse stomach cancer is very rare however, accounting for only 3% of all stomach cancers.

"With this operation, they're saving my life in advance. They can stop the cancer before it's even started. It's taken a lot of deliberation but now I know I'm carrying the gene it's the best thing I can do, " said Martin.
During the gastrectomy, the physicians will remove the stomach and reconstruct the digestive tract so Martin can still digest food.


The main source for this article is TheCancerBlog