Our Story

On October 17, 2007, JP Gallagher was living the perfect life.  The 37 year-old was a father of two beautiful children, with a third on the way.  A marketing director at a highly successful technology company in the Silicon Valley, and heavily involved in the community, JP could not have asked for more. 

A small “hiccup” in his throat, and the prodding of his wife, took him to see his primary care physician.  Everyone was under the assumption that it was nothing to worry about.  A barium swallow, followed by an upper endoscopy were conducted in an effort to rule out anything serious.  The worst case scenario was that his symptoms were the result of an ulcer, but most likely was just the effects of working too much and not eating well. 

On October 18, 2007, JP was diagnosed with cancer.  After some more detailed analysis, the diagnosis was gastric, or stomach cancer.  After the initial shock of this diagnosis, an additional wave of anxiety hit as stomach cancer is rarely seen in young, otherwise healthy people.  Testicular cancer, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, breast cancer and others are quite common and well researched.  Treatment plans, survival rates, success stories and support networks are all more common with these types of cancers.  Unfortunately, gastric cancer is relatively obscure, even though it will be diagnosed in about 22,000 Americans annually and half of those people will die from it, according to the American Cancer Society.

Fortunately, JP’s cancer was contained to his stomach and local lymph nodes, and after a total gastrectomy (complete removal of the stomach) and aggressive chemotherapy and radiation, JP is currently cancer-free.  However, the lack of any centralized data on gastric cancer and how to not only live with the disease, but also live without a stomach, left JP wanting to do something to “fill the void” in the cancer community. 

In August of 2008, a few months JP completed his treatment, he contacted Dr. James Ford, his oncologist at Stanford University and a leader in gastric and genetic cancer research. Realizing a major gap in the community and an opportunity to make a positive change, the two decided to start the Gastric Cancer Fund. The fund is dedicated to helping people fight gastric cancer. Through education, support, research and advocacy, the fund is dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by gastric cancer and working with leading researchers to find a cure to this disease.