For months, Georgia Gardiner knew something was wrong. The 28-year-old from Leeds suffered from severe stomach pain, nausea, and rapid weight loss—symptoms doctors repeatedly brushed off as acid reflux. But when she finally got the right test, the results shattered her world.
“I was being sick constantly, unable to eat, and in so much pain,” Georgia recalled. Despite visiting her doctor and hospital multiple times, she was told to keep taking anti-reflux medication. By the time she received an endoscopy, the truth was far worse than anyone expected: advanced gastric cancer.
The diagnosis was linitis plastica, a rare and aggressive form of stomach cancer that had already spread. Doctors explained it was incurable, giving Georgia just a year to live. “At first, we hoped they could remove it,” she said. “But when they said it was terminal, I shut down completely.”
Now, Georgia is focused on creating lasting memories with her two-year-old son, Arlo, while raising awareness. “I get angry thinking that if they’d listened sooner, maybe things would be different,” she said. Her message to others? “Don’t accept a diagnosis if it doesn’t feel right. Keep pushing—it could save your life.”
