Newsletter: Summer 2009

Welcome to the GCF Newsletter

Welcome!

I’d like to welcome each of you to the inaugural newsletter for the Gastric Cancer Fund! We launched the organization just a few short months ago and are now working as quickly as we can to build a community of support to fight this terrible disease. Distributed quarterly, this newsletter will hopefully help keep you informed about the key activities surrounding the organization, provide updates on research studies and clinical trials, as well as provide tips for not only surviving, but hopefully thriving with gastric cancer.

Since launching the organization, it has been both comforting and empowering to connect with survivors, as well as loved ones of both survivors and those who have lost their life to the disease. We all share the common passion to fight the disease and make sure we do everything we can to slow, and eventually stop it from ruining our lives or the lives of our loved ones.

Many of you know that gastric cancer affects approximately 22,000 Americans a year and half of those people will die from the disease this year, which puts it in the top 10 cancer killers in America. What you might not know is that certain types of gastric cancers, such as those that arise at the gastric esophageal junction (GEJ), are among the most rapidly increasing cancers in the US. Looking outside the US is even more concerning, as gastric cancer is the #2 cancer killer worldwide.