A NIGHT OF HEALING- NO STOMACH FOR CANCER

Here is the video of my speech from the No Stomach for Cancer- A Night of Healing.

It got cut off at the end, so the ending is below.... :)

Having supper with stomachless friends while in LA was awesome AND hilarious at the same time!!!

The waiter comes to our table to take our order. Nicole and I decided we should share the 1/4 chicken and sides. He couldn't believe this and talked us into splitting the 1/2 chicken and sides instead (we should have stuck with splitting the 1/4 chicken). Steve and Jessica ordered regular meals, but boy-oh-boy did our waiter get after Steve to order a larger meal because he was... the "guy" at our table. He let him know that he was going to still be HUNGRY after his small meal. Steve told him that he was a diet. (HAHAHA) We were ROLLING with laughter and our waiter thought he was a stand up comedian....little did he know, he was dropping ALL the right lines to a table full of stomachless people. We never did go into the fact that we are stomachless and the majority of stomachless people do NOT get hungry and can only eat so little. I think our waiter was surprised when he came back to see how much food was left over in the end.

We had, also, eaten at the Spaghetti Factory and when someone mentioned there were a few of us with who didn't have stomachs, our waitress said, "Ya...I sometimes feel that way, too." WHAT?! BAHAHAH....no, for real....like we don't have stomachs!!!

 

GOOD TIMES with GREAT PEOPLE!!!

 

Steve and myself on the left

Jessica, in the back, and Nicole, in the front, on the right

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

I did an interview with Blair from the Bismarck Tribune a few weeks ago about my story.  She let me know that it was going to be in Sunday's paper in the Health Section.  While in LA, I got an email from Blair letting me know that it would actually be in Monday's paper.  Much to my surprise, it was on the FRONT page with a ginormous picture attached!!!  ALSO, EVERY OTHER NEWSPAPER in NORTH DAKOTA picked up my story and was, often, listed on their FIRST PAGE, too....the Fargo Forum, Grand Forks Herald, Dickinson Press, Jamestown Sun, etc.  Besides that, it was a TOP STORY and that means people were truly interested in reading about this!!!  Oh how my heart could just burst!

I am SO thankful that there was no other MAJOR news going on that MY story could be on THE FIRST PAGE and shared SO many times.  Knowledge is power and I'm so happy that this information about CDH1, gastric cancer, and total gastrectomies is out there!!!

http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck/lincoln-woman-navigates-life-without-stomach/article_7711430f-95f3-5e88-b6b3-0b689db3e785.html



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LA- MY HEART IS INCREDIBLY FULL

Well, I made it to Los Angeles for the Spotlight on Gastric Cancer yesterday where my Aunt Kathy was able to pick me up. We got to spend some good quality time together with great conversation.

Once we got to the motel, I went down to meet with the crew that is here from No Stomach for Cancer (the Executive Director and 3 board members), along with the other speakers (Jessica and Nicole, the Stomachless Sisters and Steve Dang). It would be an understatement if I said my heart wasn't overflowing with love when I came back to my room!!! Every.single.one of these people are simply amazing and I cannot wait to get to spend more time with them this evening and all day tomorrow!

What an empowering and uplifting group of people....my heart is incredibly full!!! ❤

SO...HOW EXACTLY DOES THAT WORK?

I LOVE telling people about life without a stomach and I REALLY get a kick out of telling and explaining it to medical professionals!
I saw a medical doctor on Friday for something non-TG related. Our conversation went something like this, when going over my health history...
Doctor, "Why did you have a total gastrectomy?"
I explained how my mom and grandpa both passed from stomach cancer and I was being preventative given my odds of having an 83% chance of getting it with a ...4% chance of survival. Those weren't odds I was willing to go up against and this was the only thing that would GUARENTEE I would not get the same cancer that killed my mom and grandpa. It's similar to someone choosing to have a mastectomy due to a BRCA mutation.
Doctor, "So, how exactly does that work?"
HAHAHA....here it goes......and I gave the best, but shortest answer I could. I'm all about informing others, but it surprises when I have to tell a medical doctor "how it works."

CARSON WENTZ

If you are from North Dakota, you are most likely a Carson Wentz fan.  He is the Quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and comes from Bismarck, ND (where I currently live) and is a graduate of NDSU (in Fargo, ND- where I was raised).  I have NEVER heard one negative thing about this gentleman...he is a kind and caring soul.  I have never met him, but his dad, Doug Wentz, was our mortgage lender and was an amazing man...it's clear to see where he gets his kindness from.

I am, now, an even BIGGER fan of Carson Wentz.  What a kind person he is to grant this young boys wish through Make-a-Wish AND, without even knowing it, shed light on GASTRIC CANCER (which is the THIRD leading cause of cancer deaths).  If you haven't watched this video, please do so...in its entirety...and grab a box of tissues!!!  I'm a tough cookie, or so I like to think, and the end really got me good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxvc4JFQrNA

FALL 2017 SPOTLIGHT ON STOMACH CANCER

Cannot WAIT to this amazing conference AND to speak at it!!!

Also, I am THRILLED to be able to meet other stomachless friends and new ones who are on the journey of deciding what's right for them.  I hope you all will join me at this wonderful conference or at least tune in to watch the recording!!!