When diagnosed with a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) or any rare disease, the patient usually sees a doctor specializing in the treatment of that disease. Unfortunately, I live on a rock in the middle of the ocean, which makes finding the right doctor especially difficult.
Many cancer patients would disagree, but GIST cancer has been both the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me.
Three years ago, I heard one of the many things a cancer patient does not want to hear, “You have new growths. You’ve relapsed.” It was the first time I cried because of my cancer diagnosis, reality finally hit, and I was devastated. Relapsing with pediatric and wildtype (SDHA) gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) was hard…
Shortly after turning 15 years old, I was diagnosed with cancer. I was fully convinced it was not true because I thought it was only an “old person’s illness.” I was diagnosed with Pediatric and Wildtype gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) with SDHA deficiency during the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of high school.…
Being diagnosed with gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) cancer can be challenging for many reasons. One of those being it is an “invisible” illness. When people hear “cancer,” they think of a bald, skinny, sick, helpless person, which in many cases is far from what it actually looks like. Many of my cancer friends actually gained…
My previous post talked about how communication needs to improve between healthcare providers, parents, and adolescents. Today I want to continue on the topic of communication. As an AYA cancer patient diagnosed with pediatric and wildtype gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) and just a young adult in general, I quickly learned that our communication skills decline.…
