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Brave Kate fighting on
Kristy Mayr for 7News Investigations March 3, 2014, 4:37 pm<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid
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A young woman has taken the courageous decision to have her stomach removed, after tests revealed she was at serious risk of cancer.
Kate Fulford, 26, lost both her mother and younger sister to stomach cancer and was told she had an 80 per cent chance of developing the cancer as well.
Tests revealed Kate’s mother and sister had a rare genetic mutation putting them at an exceptionally high risk of stomach cancer.
There are only about 30 known cases of people carrying the genetic mutation across the country.
Kate ordered a blood test and tested positive for the gene.
“Carrying that gene means I have had an 80 per cent chance of getting stomach cancer myself, and also a 60 per cent chance of breast cancer,” Kate said.
Stomach cancer is very rare in Australia and affects around one per cent of the population, which means there are no screening programs in place.
Doctors can do endoscopies, where they insert a tiny camera into the stomach and take a biopsy of the cells, but these tests are unreliable.
Kate’s surgeon Dr Cuong Duong said the only way to completely remove the risk of developing gastric cancer is to remove the whole stomach.
“[In] most of our patients, including Kate, when we resect the stomach, the microscopic cancers are already there present, which were not picked up on endoscopy,” Dr Duong said.
While initially it was a difficult choice, Kate said she realised it was the only choice she had.
Last week, Kate underwent a seven hour keyhole surgery procedure at the Peter McCallum Cancer Centre.
Kate is now back at home a week after surgery and has to rest for a month as she adjusts to a new diet of liquids and pureed foods.
“Eventually I'll be able to eat normally, it'll just be much smaller portions,” Kate said.
Despite a 60 per cent chance of developing breast cancer, Kate has ruled out a mastectomy on advice that regular mammograms should be able to detect any worrying changes.
