New Jersey mom with 'Angelina Jolie' gene is diagnosed with young people's colon cancer after stomach cramps READ MORE: 'Jolie effect' leading to too many mastectomies , scientists warn By Cassidy Morrison Senior Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com Published: 17:45, 23 October 2024 | Updated: 17:55, 23 October 2024 e-mail View comments A mother was fortunate to learn of her colon cancer before it spread, but her brush with death revealed hidden health risks that changed her life forever. When Marisa Stachelski, 39, from New Jersey , began experiencing stomach pain like never before in 2022, she knew instinctively that something was wrong.
She visited her local doctor, who referred her for a colonoscopy, a screening test for colorectal cancer that doctors don't start recommending until you're 45. Her doctor detected a cancerous mass in her colon before the cancer had spread to other places in her body, and doctors removed it. But her close call led to more tests which revealed she had the 'Angelina Jolie' gene - a mutation that drastically increases risk of other cancers.
She then made the life-changing decision to have a double mastectomy masterectomy to remove her breasts and removed her fallopian tubes, ensuring that she would be there to watch her boys grow up. The mother-of-two was told that, with her specific gene mutation, it was not a matter of if she would develop cancer again, but when . Mrs Stachelski is pictured with her family.
She underwent a preventive mastectomy .