#cdh1

[gardenofyoga]

This week on #theflowartistspodcast we talk to Michelle @michellepottervisionaryartist and Simone Busija about living and thriving without a stomach. As many of you know @ranelovesyoga has also had a #totalgastrectomy so this is an episode close to our hearts! We talk about their work supporting the #stomachless community, the #selfcare practices they find helpful, their experiences with cancer and the #cdh1 gene and how these experiences have shaped their lives today. We wanted to share some positive experiences about life after this surgery, as it can be a very scary diagnosis, and Michelle and Simone have some great advice on how they navigated it. I think this would also be a really helpful listen if someone you know how been diagnosed with cancer and you are wondering how best to support them. We also discuss the upcoming walk to raise funds for #nostomachforcancer and the #yogafordigestiveease workshop that we will be running at our studio. You can listen at Podcast.flowartists.com or look for The Flow Artists Podcast on Spotify or iTunes. . . . #yogapodcast #podcast #nostomachnoproblem #stomachcancer #stomachcancerawareness #yogaforhealing #meditation (at The Flow Artists Podcast) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpf0sqsnUH_/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=31h25tnhsg00

[memiorofahollowman]

148lbs!!! Its been just over 7 years since my stomach was removed on May 30th 2011, and it was a battle to reach and stay above 140lbs for the longest time. In the last year or so I have been fluctuating between 140-145lbs with occasionally going over…but in last few months my weights been consistantly staying above 145lbs. Its crazy to think, but I am slowly inching towards hitting the 150lbs mark which I never thought be possible…super stoked! #stomachless #cdh1 #cancersucks #aclrecovery #determination #gymtime #participaction

[guineapigwithaflamethrower]

Sometimes, biology is stupid

That there? That’s a series of nearly 100,000 nucleotides. Those nucleotides hang out together on the sixteenth chromosome of us humans. All together, they’re known as cadherin 1, or CDH1. What does this gene do? Well, it tells the body how to make a protein found in epithelial cells (the cells that line the surfaces and cavities of our body) that makes those cells really good at sticking together the way they’re supposed to. Why am I telling you this? Well, let’s zoom in a bit.

Yeah, probably going to need to zoom in a bit more. You probably can’t see it yet.

That is the 2287th nucleotide in the CDH1 gene. You, and pretty much everyone you know, has thymine there. I have guanine. One error. Out of 98,250 nucleotides in this gene. If this gene were a test, I would get a 99.99898% on it. Most teachers would round that up to 100%. 

So what does that guanine mean? If you live in the United States, and you have thymine in the 2287th position of your CDH1 gene, you have, over the course of your entire life, a less than 1% chance of having stomach cancer. Me? 80%. If you are a woman in the US, you have a 1-2% lifetime risk of having lobular breast cancer. Me? 40-50%. That is, before I had the preventative mastectomy. 

One tiny mistake. Just a blip, really. Except that it’s not.

Biology is stupid.