As humans, all of us want the best for our health. The best food, the best water, the best vitamins, all so that we can stay healthy – because as the saying goes, your health is your wealth! What’s the most extreme thing you’ve done to prevent getting ill and take care of your health? Whatever you’ve done, I’m pretty sure you can’t top what this girl did.
Emily LeFranq, 22, from Woodland, Washington removed her WHOLE stomach when she found out she had a risk of stomach cancer. According to her, her father Mich Martin suffered from brain cancer and was told that he had a mutation in his CDH1 gene. A person with a mutation in this gene will have a 70% chance of developing stomach cancer, but since he was already so ill, he couldn’t do anything about it. Emily was worried and quickly got herself tested, and discovered that she also had a mutation in the same gene.
Source: NewStraitsTimes
Upon discovering this, Emily made the abrupt decision of undergoing surgery to remove her stomach. I know, I know, how does she eat, how does she digest her food? Currently, her oesophagus is connected to her small intestines, which acts as a substitute stomach (gastrectomy) . Has her life changed now? Yes, absolutely!
Emily can only eat smaller portions of food now as she gets fuller faster, and the meal also has to be balanced to avoid getting sugar crashes. Although it may seem drastic, there was some good to Emily’s decision as after the doctor removed her stomach, they did some testing and found cancerous cells in the stomach lining!
“It’s such a fast-moving cancer, and mine was already growing,”
Source: SingHealth
Although she currently only can eat smaller portions of food, over time her intestines will stretch to accommodate what she eats. Despite her surgery, Emily has a really positive outlook in life and said that if she hadn’t gotten this surgery, she wouldn’t have even made it to her the mid-to-late 20s. “I just hope that I can be… that people can look at me and say: ‘If she can do it, I can do it too.”
Emily’s precaution should serve as a great reminder to all of us to always be careful and get regular medical check-ups. We admire her positivity and her will to overcome her problems in life!
Also read: Breaking: Scientists Have Now Created A Virus That Can Kill EVERY TYPE OF CANCER!
