GIST Patient Stories

Found by Accident

In 2014, I had just retired and was looking forward to traveling with my husband, Leonard. I had been dealing with a multiday headache that just kept getting worse, and at one point, I passed out. I woke up four days later to learn that I had suffered a massive brain bleed. As a result of this, my doctors ordered a complete CT scan to get an idea of what was going on.

In the spring 2005, I passed out at my home and was taken to my local emergency room. After describing my symptoms, an endoscopy was performed. Doctors found a mass in my stomach and performed laparoscopic surgery to remove it. My discharge instructions made no mention of cancer.

In April 2007, my symptoms were back, so I returned to the same hospital. The doctors asked me whether I followed up with an oncologist after my initial surgery. No one at my local hospital ever told me I had cancer, so I was confused and shocked by this news.

My body’s call for medical attention came on a seemingly normal morning in 2007, when I experienced extreme difficulty swallowing after completing my regular workout routine. I had an uneasy feeling about the strange sensation, but I delayed pursuing a doctor’s help until the next day, when I finally decided to go to the emergency room at a local hospital. The emergency room doctor found a large growth in my stomach and recommended that I seek a facility that was able to handle a tumor of that type and size. I was shocked that I could be living with something and not know. I was able to run five miles the previous day with no issues.