When Dianne Reyes went in for an ultrasound in June 2024 to investigate recurring bladder infections, she wasn't expecting the results that followed. Within a day, she was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. During the same round of testing, doctors also discovered a small, inactive tumour in her stomach — one that, left unaddressed, could eventually turn cancerous.
Dianne's care team made the call to treat the more urgent threat first. She began chemotherapy that September and later underwent a stem cell transplant, a course of treatment that brought severe vertigo, abdominal pain, and side effects throughout her digestive system. The stomach tumour was set aside, monitored but untouched, while she focused on getting through lymphoma treatment.
A First for Western Canada
Once her lymphoma was under control, attention turned back to the stomach tumour. In March 2026, Dr. Eric Lam and his team at St. Paul's Hospital removed it using a full thickness endoscopic resection — a minimally invasive technique performed entirely through an endoscope, without external incisions. Dr. Lam and colleagues believe it was the first procedure of its kind performed in B.C. and Western Canada, developed through training the team completed in Japan.
The approach let doctors remove the tumour while preserving far more healthy stomach tissue than traditional surgery would allow, and it meant a dramatically shorter recovery. Dianne spent just one night in hospital and was back to work about a week later. Today, her lymphoma is in remission and she continues immunotherapy while her blood work remains strong.
You can read the full story on the procedure, including insights from Dr. Lam on how the technique works and where it may be headed next, here.
Care That Went Beyond the Procedure
What made the biggest difference for Dianne throughout her treatment, though, wasn't only the innovation on the surgical side — it was the integrative support running alongside it. Outside of her conventional oncology team, Dianne was also under the care of Dr. Sharon Gurm, ND FABNO, who provided additional support with Novothor red light therapy and IV treatments. Being able to receive that care within PMH itself, gave her real comfort during an already overwhelming stretch of treatment.
"I have been able to work throughout my oncology treatments because of the care I receive from Dr. Gurm, ND at PMH, which gives me the energy to do so," Dianne says. That sense of steadiness carried her through the harder moments, too. "I feel confident that Dr. Gurm has my back," she says. "Whenever I get anxious and my focus starts to go elsewhere, I remember her words: 'Lean into me and I will get you through this.'"
Dianne's care hasn't stopped now that the stomach tumour is behind her. Continuous, ongoing hormonal support remains a meaningful part of her recovery — one that takes time to fine-tune. She's found comfort in Dr. Gurm's thorough, detail-oriented approach as they work through that process together.
Looking back on her experience at PMH, Dianne describes feeling genuinely taken care of, even spoiled, by the team supporting her there. Her story is a reminder of what's possible when leading-edge medicine and attentive, integrative support work hand in hand: not just treating the disease, but caring for the whole person moving through it.
