WAYNESBORO, Va. (WHSV) – Samantha “Samie” Lynn Nichols was born on Oct. 21, 1995, the first child of Dave and Denise Nichols.
Samantha would have turned 30 years old in 2025, but her life was cut short after she passed away in July 2025 from a type of gastric cancer, a year after she was first diagnosed.
Samantha’s diagnosis stemmed from a genetic mutation to the CDH1 gene. According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the mutation can put people at a higher risk of cancer, including hereditary diffuse gastric cancer, which was what Samantha was diagnosed with in July 2024…