Donna Phinney

Our journey so far...




After months of stomach troubles and being told to adjust diet and that this wasn't cancer, we found out that indeed it is. It's a sneaky cancer that hid in between layers of the stomach lining, which is why it was hard to detect. 

Out of all the stomach cancers, this type is very rare and aggressive. Her cancer is called Genetic Diffuse Stomach Cancer and it's related to the gene mutation CDH1 on chromosome #16. Donna's brother, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother all passed on from cancer. The average age for this cancer is 38, so we feel very lucky she didn't get this at an earlier age. Donna's kids have to be tested and have a 50% chance of carrying this gene mutation. If this mutation is present, the recommendation is to remove the stomach as there is an 80% chance of getting this cancer themselves. 

Although this news is tough to comprehend... my mom continues to have the positive attitude she has always had. She continues to smile and laugh amongst the tears. Please keep our family in your prayers!