Recently Had Surgery

I was diagnosed with stomach cancer early in September 2007 and had surgery in September 22, 2007.  My surgeon was from the City of Hope in Monrovia California.

After my surgery it was determined that my cancer was in stage 1 but I lost my whole stomach.  My oncologist determined that no chemo therapy or radiation was necessary and I just start back to work this week.

I have lost a considerable amount of weight and struggle to find something to eat to keep up my energy level and maintain my mental alertness.  I am always cold, my bowl movements are irregular but I use Colace (a stool softerner) to help with that.  I exercise by walking a mile or half a mile everyday and see as many friends as I can manage for moral support.

I was in great physical shape prior to my diagnoses for a 60 year old person but I must admit that life has become a big struggle.  I have good days and real bad days and have a lot of trouble sleeping at night.  Learning what food to eat is my biggest problem.  I realize that I am blessed to have survived the pain and trauma from the cancer and I am aware that there are many people that are worst off.  I know that there are many survivors in similar situation as I.  I feel uncomfortable posting my situation in light of the many people dealing with much worst scenarios.  I would still like to hear from other cancer survivors and how they deal with food, sleep, work and regaining their life.

Congratulate that you get over it in such an early stage.

1) Did you have any symptom prior to the surgery such as feeling cold?  What other symptoms did you experience?

2) After surgery, u shouldn't feel cold ( such as cold feet or hand).  If you still experience same, I would try to find out if there is any other reasons.  What is your TSH? Check your Thyroid too.

3)  You need to walk 1-2 hours a day.  Get as much sun exposure as you can.  You are lucky to be in California.

4)  Try aloe vera drink and ginger root to see if it improves your digestion.  You may want to take pancrelipase ( Viokase or Creon ) or plant base enzyme to see if it improve bowel condition.

5)  What is your Cholesterol, HDL and LDL.  There is study showing relation about the gastric cancer lymph node.

6)  Google Budwig ( Flaxseed with cottage cheese) on the web.  Try it and see it help.

Keep on doing research on the web to avoid recurrence.  It is a long term project to fight the recurrence.

On 11/24/2007 Ssc200 wrote:

Congratulate that you get over it in such an early stage.

1) Did you have any symptom prior to the surgery such as feeling cold?  What other symptoms did you experience?

2) After surgery, u shouldn't feel cold ( such as cold feet or hand).  If you still experience same, I would try to find out if there is any other reasons.  What is your TSH? Check your Thyroid too.

3)  You need to walk 1-2 hours a day.  Get as much sun exposure as you can.  You are lucky to be in California.

4)  Try aloe vera drink and ginger root to see if it improves your digestion.  You may want to take pancrelipase ( Viokase or Creon ) or plant base enzyme to see if it improve bowel condition.

5)  What is your Cholesterol, HDL and LDL.  There is study showing relation about the gastric cancer lymph node.

6)  Google Budwig ( Flaxseed with cottage cheese) on the web.  Try it and see it help.

Keep on doing research on the web to avoid recurrence.  It is a long term project to fight the recurrence.

Ssc200 Thank you for your reply.

I am a typical California Health nut and was in great physical shape prior to my diagnosis.   I have had symptoms for over a year and a half my doctor thought that it was acid reflux.  I had pain and symptoms similar to a heart attack every morning around 4 to 5 am.  It wasn't until I called 911 and spent a day at the cardiac ward that I found out that I did not have a heart problem or perhaps an acid reflux problem.  I called my doctor and insisted on an endoscope and a couple of days later I got the bad news.

I am 90 days from my surgery I have lost a lot of weight but have started to gain some back.  I am 5'9" and weigh 165 lb I lift weights, walk a mile everyday and started back to work a couple of weeks ago.  I have had very little guidance from any doctor except to tell me to eat.  I am on no medication but do take a daily multivitamin with iron, calcium with D, and a daily B-12.

Generally I sleep well have a daily bowl movement and eat every two hours.  I have had to figure things out for my self and have done some research on the net, book stores and library.  I have not had cold feet or hands but I have had some trouble with digestion the first couple of months.  My doctors suggested that I drink a liquid food supplement but I have not found one that does not make me feel ill.  I eat lots of fruits, vegetables, some meat protein and for now a good amount of crabs to ad weight to my bones.

I  have stayed way from the drugs that my doctors have given me because they seem to make things worst rather than better (I don't have to take Chemo or Radiation).  I am concern about the occurrences of more cancer and I am aware that I am very uninformed.  I wish I had the power to light a fire under my doctors and my HMO but I am glad that I found this site and can get and give support to others.  

On 12/26/2007 atalo wrote:

its sounds like ur recovering very well and thats a good thing. how old r u ? how early did they found that u had stomach cancer ? how much of ur stomach did they take out? Im having surgery on 12/27/07 im 34 and they found mine at about stage 2 they still think the might have to take all my stomach . if u can tell what i can expect after surgery i will be very gratefull . how hard is it 2 get ur weight back ?

Hello atoalo,

I am sorry that this reply may reach you on the day of your surgery. 

I am 61 years old and I worked out every day walking 3 to 5 miles a day and lifting no more than 20 lbs of dead weight every other day.  My doctor warned me not to loose any weight before surgery and to get plenty of sleep.  My HMO turned down all attempt at a PET scan to find out how much of my stomach it would be necessary to take out.  My doctor did an arthroscopic exploration during surgery and decided to take the whole stomach.  I was in the hospital 12 day and was fed through a tube in the side of my belly.  Post surgery I lost a lot of weight and having friends and family visit help me to keep up my courage.  Pain medication is important post surgery but it can also be a problem.  It can make the bowls take longer to response once your get to the home recovery stage.  Walking is very important!!!!  The other part difficult thing about pain medication is that you might have a period of withdraw symptoms which may add to your distress. I am now on my 97th day after surgery and starting to gain weight, I went from 150 lbs (I am 5'10") to 165.    I had to figure out what I could eat and how much for myself.  If you want details of my diet please send me another email when you can.  

God bless and I wish a successful surgery and a quick re recovery. 

On 12/27/2007 Harrietg. wrote:

hi! don't know if u can have this, but i have found crushed flaxseed a godsend for constipation! & completely natural! 2-3 teaspoons, i mix it with yogurt! all those other things made me feel sick & gave me the impression i smelled bad!

Hi Harrietg,

Your right I have a table spoon of flaxseed oil when I feel the need.  I also have at least one or two meals a day with roughage.  I like turnip greens with my eggs in the morning and two fruits a day.  I now have a daily bm without any difficulty.