26-06-2025
Woman Given Dire Cancer Prognosis After Doctors Dismissed Her Stomach Symptoms as Heartburn
After months of abdominal pains, Georgia-Leigh Gardiner, a mom living in the United Kingdom, learned she had an aggressive stomach cancer
The 28-year-old has a 2-year-old son named Arlo, who was her first thought when she received her diagnosis
She's planning to start chemotherapy this summer, which she hopes will "potentially slow the growth of the cancer"Georgia-Leigh Gardiner, a mom living in the United Kingdom, is learning to cope with a devastating diagnosis after suffering months of stomach pains.
The 28-year-old's symptoms emerged around Christmastime 2024, when she began experiencing abdominal pains, weight loss and an inability to eat without vomiting, she wrote in a GoFundMe established in June.
Gardiner said she used to be a "massive foodie," but eventually, her body "was just rejecting everything," Daily Mail reports.
"I was experiencing pains in my upper stomach. It was really intense, it was a sharp constant pain," she said, per the outlet.
Gardiner said on GoFundMe that she went 'back and forth' with doctors for months and was initially prescribed lansoprazole, a medication used to treat heartburn, acid reflux and other stomach conditions.
Eventually, she said she was referred to a non-specific symptoms pathway, which according to the UK's National Health Service, helps patients 'who do not fit clearly into a single 'urgent cancer' referral pathway, but who are nonetheless at risk of being diagnosed with cancer.'
'I wasn't aware this was a cancer pathway until I went to my appointment,' Gardiner said on her fundraiser, adding that she then underwent an endoscopy through her throat, a procedure in which doctors can look inside patient's digestive system using a camera.
On Friday, June 13, she and her fiancé Callum had a meeting at St. James's University Hospital, where Gardiner learned she had linitus plastica, an aggressive stomach cancer.
'In that room, my whole world crumbled,' Gardiner said, adding that doctor found the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and other internal organs.
'Then I heard the word 'incurable' and all I thought of was Arlo. How can this be happening when I have a 2-year-old son?' Gardiner recalled.
'I think I even laughed and asked Callum if what they were saying was real,' she added on GoFundMe. 'I think I went through every emotion you could think of in the space of 5 minutes. But it is real, and the fact of it is I have stage 4 terminal cancer and I don't know how long I have left.'
She believes the life expectancy for this form of cancer is about a year. Medical research varies, but a few studies suggest the five-year survival rate is about 3-10% for those living with linitis plastica, although others show a higher percentage.
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'I'm young, I'm healthy other than the weight loss and I'm full of fight. I start chemo in a couple of weeks which can potentially slow the growth of the cancer,' Gardiner said on GoFundMe, adding that she may also be eligible for a clinical trial.
'People really need to see life for what it is because it's beautiful and we all spend so much time worrying about things that don't even matter,' Gardiner said. 'Tomorrow is never promised, hold your loved ones closer and just embrace life.'
Read the original article on People
