Joey's Stomach Cancer Fight - Siwe Strong

At 17, my nephew Joey has developed stomach cancer. It feels unreal that at 17 it’s even a possibility.

We know why… in 2015, my nephew Billy (Joey’s older brother), passed away from stomach cancer at the age of 20 – another impossibility that our family had to face. We learned that Billy developed stomach cancer because of a genetic mutation in the CDH1 gene. It was after his passing we discovered it was genetic, and we also learned at 13, Joey was a carrier.

As my sister and her family took steps to monitor Joey through annual endoscopies, we were sad to hear that at the age of 17, Joey has developed stomach cancer – signet ring cell adenocarcinoma, to be exact.

My nephew is an amazing kid. He is taking all the information in stride. Next month, February 19, Joey will have his stomach removed. It is a 5-6 hours surgery as he is having a Total Gastrectomy. They will connect his esophagus directly to his small intestines. Joey will be in the hospital for 1-2 weeks before he can come home and begin to recover. As you can imagine living without a stomach poses enormous challenges. The Siwe/Feece Family will work to make Joey as comfortable as possible while he recovers and tries to adapt to a whole new way of living, which won’t always be easy.

We want to support them with raising some money to help pay for medical bills, alternative schooling, and a few things at home that will aid in his recovery, particularly a new bed that can be elevated at different degrees as sleeping flat is not likely an option. Every little bit will help.

Thank you for all the love and support offered to Joey and his family. Please share his story.
WE ARE ALL SIWE STRONG!

With Gratitude,
Team “Siwe Strong”

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