Gastric Cancer Advocate Debbie Zelman Talks About Need for Education and Support

Debbie Zelman is the founder and president of Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer, a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to educating and supporting patients and their families.

One goal of the organization is to provide information for patients and their families to better understand the disease.

"Whenever a patient and their family are more educated about a disease, they can more effectively contribute to their care," Zelman says. "We've also found in cancer that the more support a patient has, the better the outcome they have."

Caregivers can bring meals, go to the appointment with them, but also learn and research about the disease and its treatments.

"Whenever anyone is better informed, they can become a better advocate for themselves," she says. "They can say, 'Hey, I heard about this great biomarker that they just now announced at ASCO GI. Can you tell me more about it?'"