Yolanda Day

DDF Mentor & Survivor

In late 2019, I began noticing extreme fatigue with even minimal exertion. At 60 years old and severely overweight, I initially thought I just needed to change my diet, exercise more, and get healthier. However, in 2020, things worsened. My husband and I love to dance, but I couldn’t even finish one dance without feeling exhausted. My fatigue became so severe that I struggled to catch my breath simply by bending down.

After several tests for heart problems came back negative, my doctor ordered lab work, which revealed my red blood cell count was dangerously low. I needed a blood transfusion, and after a four-day hospital stay and numerous tests, doctors still couldn’t identify the source of the low red blood count. A hematologist/oncologist then suspected a stomach-related issue and recommended I see a gastroenterologist.

Thankfully, the gastroenterologist was able to see me within a week, despite the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic. I shared that I had undergone extensive dental work in 2019 and had been taking over-the-counter aspirin and Tylenol, so the doctor suspected a bleeding ulcer and recommended an endoscopy. To my surprise, the endoscopy revealed not an ulcer, but a bleeding tumor in my stomach—a malignant stage 2 stomach cancer.

This diagnosis was a shock, as there was no cancer history in our immediate family, aside from my weight and high blood pressure. It was an unsettling new chapter, but I am incredibly grateful for the support I received from my family and friends. My husband, daughter, son, and sister stood by me every step of the way, attending every doctor’s visit with me.

I underwent chemotherapy and radiation in mid-2021 and had my stomach removed in December 2021. By the grace of a successful treatment plan, my scans show no evidence of disease to this day.

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