Emily LeFrancq, 22, of Woodland, Washington, said that as her father Mick Martin battled brain cancer, he was told he had a mutation in his CDH1 gene.
The CDH1 gene provides instructions for making a protein that helps neighbouring cells stick together and form tissues. Those with a CDH1 gene mutation related to HDGC have a risk of between 56 and 70 per cent of developing stomach cancer in their lifetimes, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Last December, LeFrancq underwent a procedure in which her stomach was removed and her oesophagus, a tube that connects the throat to the stomach, was attached to the small intestine so that there is still a functioning digestive system.“It's such a fast-moving cancer, and mine was already growing,” LeFrancq told KGW 8.