My Story

I want to start by saying I am not a writer. I have no medical degree and I am no expert at anything. All I know is what I have experienced in life and the research I have done around that. I want to share what I know with others with the hope of helping people. If I can help even one person then it is all worth it.

I started to learn about health and wellness my senior year in high school when my boyfriend at the time was going to chiropractic college. I was young and in a place in my life when it didn’t really peak my interest. Fast forward to meeting my amazing husband Chris, who eventually became a massage therapist. Then years later I lost my mother from stomach cancer and then my brother from a heroine overdose. Around that same time, my MIL who is also a chiropractor introduced us to a medical device called a bemer. That is when I started to be interested in health and wellness. I wanted to learn more about cancer, I wanted to learn more about the opioid crisis and I started to hate big pharma.

Fast forward again to the wonderful year of 2020. In mid January I had an appointment with a genetic counselor because of a gene mutation I was said to have. My doctor did genetic testing due to family history. That day rocked my world. I walked into the appointment thinking nothing of it and came out thinking I was going to die very soon and leave my little girls without a mom. They told me I have CDH1, Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer Syndrome. I have an 87% chance of getting stomach cancer and a 40% chance of getting lobular breast cancer. Both are extremely rare to detect or to know exist until it is too late. So, they recommend removing the stomach completely and monitoring the breasts every 6 months with mammograms and MRIs. To add to that, they told me that 90% of the stomachs removed already have cancer in them.

I left my appointment crying, not knowing anything about what I was just told. I called Chris and my dad and told a couple friends. I couldn’t leave my room for a few days, I was in shock and depressed like never before. I was most worried about leaving my girls behind.

One of my good friends, Airn, gave me info to get into a clinical trial for CDH1 at NIH (National Institute of Health). There, at NIH, is one of the best surgeons in the world for CDH1, if not the best. It’s also free care pertaining to my gene for the rest of my life. I dug deep into my options and out of fear decided I would be removing my stomach as soon as I could.

Then Covid happened. Everything was put on hold medically. I couldn’t even get my first initial appointment at NIH because they were only seeing covid patients. In the meantime, I met with my oncologist here in Colorado, went to cancer counseling, had my breast scans and had biopsies done of my stomach. They take 40-80 biopsies of the stomach lining once a year but it’s like finding a needle in a haystack because they are looking for single cancer cells. My first time came back clean. Because of covid, and everything being put on hold, I decided to keep researching. I’ve never been the type of person to only consider the options of western medicine so I wanted to get second opinions. Covid was a huge blessing to me for giving me the time to look into things more.

My friend Sarah, who beat breast cancer without the suggested chemo or radiation sent me some alternative cancer options. A book called “Radical Remissions”, such a good read. I think that book alone might have given me the courage to change my mind about surgery. From there I read, “You did What? Saying no to Conventional Cancer Treatment”. This book was written locally and one of my husbands co workers recommended it to me. I have joined countless cancer Facebook groups since as well. I found an amazing Functional Medicine Practioner, and have been trying to work on my health from the inside out. A famous MD who has turned to natural health, Dr. Paul Saladino told me, “The fact of the matter is that if you have your stomach removed, you have 100% chance of having digestive issues for the rest of your life, which would certainly decrease your quality of life (in my opinion).” He also recommended that I fast once a month for 24-72 hours. My functional medicine doctor and my family MD are both on board with my choice as well to not remove my stomach and say they would do the same for themselves.

So here I am. Trying my best to make healthier choices day by day and trying to avoid this horrid gene from turning on. My research has not stopped and will not stop. I have learned so much over the past year especially and I can’t wait to share health and wellness tips with you! (If you are still reading this)

Thank you so much for your time! It is the most important gift of life.