BALTIMORE, Md. — BALTIMORE, Md. - After making a life-altering decision to remove her stomach, Stacy Martin of Canton is celebrating a milestone: seven years of living cancer-free.
Martin's journey began after finding out her mother carries a rare genetic mutation known as CDH1, which significantly increases the risk of getting certain cancers. While her siblings tested negative for the mutation, Martin did not.
"So that did give me an 80% chance of getting stomach cancer and a 60% chance of getting breast cancer," Martin said.
Faced with those odds, Martin had a difficult choice to make. She could undergo regular screenings and wait for signs of cancer to appear, or she could choose preventive surgery to remove her stomach entirely.
"There was a lot of wrestling in my head," she said. "I've always been the underdog, and I think I can overcome things, but an 80% chance? And stomach cancer is really evil."
On September 12, 2019, Martin had a gastrectomy at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, a procedure that removes the stomach.
"When they did the pathology, they found 17 spots of cancer in there, so I very much made the right decision," Martin said.
The surgery drastically changed the way she lives. Without a stomach, her esophagus connects directly to her small intestine.
"So I have a tube," she said. "I'm space-constrained; I need to eat every two hours, and I snack a lot. I also have to chew my food to a puree before I swallow."
She's also had a double mastectomy.
Martin moved from Chattanooga to Baltimore this year and uses her experience to help others as a patient advocate for Hope for Stomach Cancer, a nonprofit focused on education, support and research. She goes to Washington, D.C. twice a year to push for additional funding and awareness.
"Because stomach cancer is one of the most underfunded cancers," Martin said. "A lot of symptoms of stomach cancer can be explained as many other things, and they're explained away, which is why people typically don't get diagnosed until their late stages."
When she's not working as an advocate, she's living life to the fullest, and as she approaches the seventh anniversary of her surgery, she's got big plans to celebrate.
"Seven years felt like a really big milestone, so I randomly bought tickets to see Jay-Z in Paris," she said. "I'm really grateful that I have a voice and that I have a life, and I try to live the most of it every single day."
Martin encourages others to learn more about genetic testing and stomach cancer screenings. To donate to Hope for stomach cancer, click here. To learn more and access their resources, click here.
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