Our family is reaching out on behalf of our son, brother, uncle, cousin, Greg Myers. This is a picture of Greg and his beautiful family. His wife is Kristie, his daughter Kori (27) and his son Tyler (25). This is their story.

It is a story of suffering, courage and most of all…hope. In June of 2021, Greg was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer (HDGC) or Hereditary Diffused Gastric Cancer. A mutation of the CDH1 gene causes this type of cancer. Greg has been through chemotherapy and, on Dec 27th, underwent an 18-hour surgery to remove his entire stomach, all lymph nodes from around the stomach and most of his esophagus. Because 9 of the 52 lymph nodes extracted tested positive for cancer, he will be going through more chemo and testing every three months. He was set to begin chemo last week, but his severe weight loss has delayed him. He is learning to adjust to life with no stomach and balance the need to stabilize to continue battling cancer. While navigating this horrendous disease and all that comes with it, they learned that the gene mutation is highly hereditary. Immediate family members immediately began testing to see if they, too, were positive for the gene mutation. The mutation has a 50% chance of passing from parent to child. As it turns out, both of Greg’s kids (Kori and Tyler) were positive. Pure devastation. As we write this, Tyler (his son) is recovering from his nearly 10-hour total gastrectomy. They learned he was stage 1 cancer during his preliminary testing. The cancer would have gone undetected had Greg not found his own cancer and learned of this nightmare that is ravaging their small family. Kori, his daughter (currently serving in the U.S. Air Force, just like her daddy did), will have her preventative treatment shortly, which entails a total stomach removal and a double mastectomy. (Yes, you can live without your stomach, and we explain how below).

Battling cancer is expensive, scary and challenging enough for one. Imagine battling it yourself alongside both of your children - attempting to be the rock, the caregiver and the encourager as you endure the nagging and growing financial burden on top of it all. The worry is all-consuming, and it is having an impact on his healing. The weight of the entire matter is truly daunting for Greg’s family. We have shared more detail below about their situation, the diagnosis for the three of them and their way forward if you are interested, but the truth of the matter is that Greg and his sweet family need help. As you can only imagine, the financial stress on them is incredible. Between ongoing medical bills, expiring PTO for them all and just living expenses, they are soon going to have a real challenge on their hands financially. We, his family, are setting up a GO FUND ME account on their behalf. Greg never asks for anything, but he didn't resist when we mentioned doing this for him. We knew at that moment it needed to be done. As Greg’s family, we’re helpless in alleviating the stress of the disease and all it encompasses, but the financial strain is something we can rally around and try to alleviate this stress for them. Will you rally with us? Will you consider donating even a small amount to help Greg, Kristie, Kori and Tyler battle this cancer as a family? Whether you can or not, will you please consider sharing or reposting this GO FUND ME link so that we can rally as hard as we can for them? We ALL would appreciate all the help we can get from you for them.

THANK YOU, and we hope you will read their story below. CDH1 mutation is extremely rare so you don’t hear much about it. There are less than 150 families in the world with it. Not a club you want to be part of.

Their Story:

Greg was very fortunate because his tumor was growing from his stomach into his esophagus, making it a little difficult to swallow. An endoscopy identified the cancer. I say he was “fortunate” because this type of cancer starts in the stomach and is usually asymptomatic and goes undetected even with multiple endoscopies and biopsies until it is in Stage 4. The tumor exposed the cancer. Remember this cancer (HDGC with CDH1 mutation) is hereditary. Since both kids tested positive, they went through a lot of education by their doctors, geneticists, oncologist and surgeons at the City of Hope. This gave them options to make informed decisions about their treatments. BOTH agreed to the only sure treatment, a Total Gastrectomy - total stomach removal. Without this surgery, they posed an 87% chance of developing HDGC and dying at an early age, usually before the age of 30. CDH1 also poses a very high risk of lobular breast cancer in women, so Kori will undergo a preventative double mastectomy.

While Greg was still hospitalized for his surgery in early January, Tyler and Kori underwent preliminary testing before their surgeries. Tyler learned he already had Stage 1 stomach cancer (HDGC) during these tests. We are all grateful he already had his surgery scheduled. Without the surgery, he probably wouldn't have lived another two years. It is unknown if he will need chemotherapy, radiation or further treatment, but what we do know is that Tyler will have a long recovery nonetheless. Kori's TG is scheduled for March 25th.

The stress of the disease is bad enough, but the financial impact on top of it is unfathomable. Greg is a former U.S. Airman and is employed by the government at Edwards Air Force Base. He is a salaried federal employee, but he doesn't qualify for State Disability. His insurance only covers 80% of their vast medical bills. He has almost exhausted all of his PTO and is now relying on co-workers who have been generously donating theirs for his use. He has a very long recovery time still ahead of him, and it could be months, if not longer, before he can go back to work.

Kristie just recently started a new position at Northrop Grumman, has already exhausted her PTO and is also receiving donated hours which will not last much longer. Until this news, Tyler lived in Clovis and was attending Fresno State University. He worked a part-time job, primarily relying on student loans to get by. He will not be able to go back to school or continue working for at least several months or longer. Kori has the best scenario as far as costs because she serves in the U.S. Air Force, just like her Daddy did. Her two surgeries will deem her undeployable for two years, but the military will continue to pay her full salary, but it is unclear what TRICARE will cover with regard to her medical bills at this point.

The human body is truly amazing. A TG explained very simply is complete and total removal of the stomach, then attaching the small intestine to the esophagus. The small intestine, after time, begins to take on the functionality of the stomach to an extent. The recovery from a TG varies from person to person but can take anywhere from a few months to several years. There are a lot of possible side effects. These include learning to eat and drink again, difficulty staying hydrated, enduring hypoglycemic attacks from sugars and carbs getting into the intestine too fast, brittle bones and or bone loss, malnutrition and anemia caused by poor vitamin and mineral absorption, not being able to take in enough calories, trouble staying warm, nausea, vomiting, and headaches; not to mention the weakness and the relentless fatigue. I'm sorry to drone on and on. Their journeys will be long and hard. As you can imagine, this has turned their lives and their family's lives upside down. It seems like a bad nightmare you can't wake up from.

Again, we hope you will consider joining us in helping them as they circle the wagons, consolidate and care for one another as they fight, heal, adjust and recover? The body heals so much better when it is without stress. The financial strain has burdened them. It’s the one thing WE (their family) can potentially do something about with the help of the rest of our family and friends far and wide. Will you help us? Thank you for taking the time to take in their story. We truly appreciate you all. Thank you so much!