Woman Given Dire Cancer Prognosis After Doctors Dismissed Her Stomach Symptoms as Heartburn

Georgia-Leigh Gardiner, a mom surviving successful nan United Kingdom, is learning to header pinch a devastating test aft suffering months of tummy pains.

The 28-year-old’s symptoms emerged astir Christmastime 2024, erstwhile she began experiencing abdominal pains, weight nonaccomplishment and an inability to eat without vomiting, she wrote successful a GoFundMe established successful June. 

Gardiner said she utilized to beryllium a "massive foodie," but eventually, her assemblage "was conscionable rejecting everything," Daily Mail reports.

"I was experiencing pains successful my precocious stomach. It was really intense, it was a crisp changeless pain," she said, per nan outlet.

Gardiner said connected GoFundMe that she went “back and forth” pinch doctors for months and was initially prescribed lansoprazole, a medicine utilized to dainty heartburn, acerb reflux and different tummy conditions. 

Eventually, she said she was referred to a non-specific symptoms pathway, which according to nan UK’s National Health Service, helps patients “who do not fresh intelligibly into a azygous ‘urgent cancer’ referral pathway, but who are nevertheless astatine consequence of being diagnosed pinch cancer.”

“I wasn’t alert this was a crab pathway until I went to my appointment,” Gardiner said connected her fundraiser, adding that she past underwent an endoscopy done her throat, a process successful which doctors tin look wrong patient's digestive strategy utilizing a camera.

On Friday, June 13, she and her fiancé Callum had a gathering astatine St. James’s University Hospital, wherever Gardiner learned she had linitus plastica, an fierce tummy cancer. 

“In that room, my full world crumbled,” Gardiner said, adding that expert recovered nan crab had dispersed to her lymph nodes and different soul organs.

“Then I heard nan connection ‘incurable’ and each I thought of was Arlo. How tin this beryllium happening erstwhile I person a 2-year-old son?” Gardiner recalled. 

“I deliberation I moreover laughed and asked Callum if what they were saying was real,” she added connected GoFundMe. “I deliberation I went done each emotion you could deliberation of successful nan abstraction of 5 minutes. But it is real, and nan truth of it is I person shape 4 terminal crab and I don’t cognize really agelong I person left.”

She believes nan life expectancy for this shape of crab is astir a year. Medical investigation varies, but a few studies propose nan five-year endurance complaint is astir 3-10% for those surviving pinch linitis plastica, though others show a higher percentage. 

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“I’m young, I’m patient different than nan weight nonaccomplishment and I’m afloat of fight. I commencement chemo successful a mates of weeks which tin perchance slow nan maturation of nan cancer,” Gardiner said connected GoFundMe, adding that she whitethorn besides beryllium eligible for a objective trial. 

“People really request to spot life for what it is because it’s beautiful and we each walk truthful overmuch clip worrying astir things that don’t moreover matter,” Gardiner said. “Tomorrow is ne'er promised, clasp your loved ones person and conscionable clasp life.”