[HIGHLIGHTS] Maria has lived without a stomach for eight years, when it was removed for prevention: "I have never regretted it, I did not think twice"

Maria was left without a mother shortly before her 10th birthday. At 35 her entire stomach was preventively removed after discovering she was a carrier of a genetic mutation.

In Italy there are approximately 60,000 cases per year of neoplasms linked to hereditary syndromes out of a total of 377,000 new diagnoses. Most of them are the result of strange genetic mutations and in Italy preventive gastrectomies are already performed on patients with gastenocarcinoma, a very rare disease.