View an uplifting and interesting Close Up news broadcast about Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC) on TV New Zealand featuring Parry Guilford, the scientist who first identified HDGC and the CDH1 gene mutation that causes HDGC. His discovery, only eleven years new, has been saving so many lives, including in the Chelcun family and many other families worldwide. The Close Up includes interviews with the original families in whom HDGC was first identified. We must find ways to fund the promising research that will ultimately lead to the prevention of this particular cancer as well as other related cancers.
TV New Zealand Close Up: The Kiwis who inspired a Grey’s plot
On June - 14 - 2009
Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC): A Resource for You
On June - 13 - 2009
Be sure to visit HDGC…Now What?
You, or someone close to you has been diagnosed with HDGC. Now what? The search is on, for information, for support, for encouragement.
We are committed to developing this network, a valuable source of credible and useful information. Join our community of support for all of those touched by HDGC or other types of stomach cancer. Your participation can be as little or as much as you desire. You decide. Read the rest of this entry »
Pay Attention to the Pathologist Behind the Curtain
On June - 10 - 2009
“You have doctors you’ve never met, but who are absolutely essential to your care. Pathologists are in the background, but are key to diagnosis, treatment and care,” says Kent B. Lewandrowski, MD, associate chief of Pathology and director of clinical services for the Pathology Department at Massachusetts General Hospital.
I personally discovered the critical nature of pathology in the treatment of HDGC while researching the topic after testing positive for the CDH1 gene mutation that causes HDGC. While interviewing a prospective surgeon I asked “Who will be analyzing my stomach, who is the pathologist?” This is how I first learned of Dr. Gregory Lauwers, his expertise with gastric cancer, his experience with HDGC patients, and more about the extensive and time consuming analysis that would be performed on my stomach following its removal. I met with Dr. Lauwers, approximately sixteen days following my surgery, to get my pathology results first hand and learn more about the process. My stomach remains, in Boston, in wax blocks, in 170 sections, in a drawer, for all of eternity. Read more about the importance of surgical pathology.
Pay Attention to the Pathologist Behind the Curtain, by Cathryn Delude
Massachusetts General Hospital, Cancer Center
Synergy, Winter/Spring 2009
Related Article: Choosing a Surgeon: Ten questions to ask
You’re Having WHAT? About Total Gastrectomy
On March - 2 - 2009
Prophylactic Total Gastrectomy (Preventive Complete Removal of Stomach)
Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer (HDGC) is the type of gastric cancer caused by a mutation in the CDH1 gene. Because it is nearly impossible to detect at an early stage, the recommended procedure to prevent the development of this cancer in CDH1 gene mutation carriers is prophylactic total gastrectomy. The reconstruction is referred to as a Roux-en-y.
The Surgery
The diagrams below show the anatomy before and after reconstruction. Read the rest of this entry »
