Husband Just Diagnosed

Hey All,

My husband was justs diagnosed three months ago after stomach surgery for what we thought was an ulcer turned out to be Stage 2 gastric cancer which had spread to one of the six lymph nodes biopsied. He has started on an5FU pump, has had one round of cisplatin and ebirubicen, and then will start radiation in a week with more of all chemo's. I haven't talked with anyone else who as stomach cancer and I don't really know what to expect. I want to be able to help him as much as possible. He is 64 and was very healthy. Please help me with info. etc. Thanks so much. KayK

 

Hi Kay and welcome.

I'm so sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis. This journey will be long and painful and full of many choices. We will offer has much help as we can and all the support you can handle!

 The 5FU and other chemos he is taking are pretty intense. The 5FU will most likely make him nauseous but it can be eased with reglan and other drugs to control that.

 The most common treatment for an early stage cancer is typically surgery. I'm not sure if your husband is a good candidate for that or not but you will find most people on this board have had either partial or full gastrectomies.

There are no words to describe what to expect. New situations will arise everyday.

Best of luck and keep us posted on your husband.

 

On 4/2/2008 Betz08 wrote:

Hi Kay and welcome.

I'm so sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis. This journey will be long and painful and full of many choices. We will offer has much help as we can and all the support you can handle!

 The 5FU and other chemos he is taking are pretty intense. The 5FU will most likely make him nauseous but it can be eased with reglan and other drugs to control that.

 The most common treatment for an early stage cancer is typically surgery. I'm not sure if your husband is a good candidate for that or not but you will find most people on this board have had either partial or full gastrectomies.

There are no words to describe what to expect. New situations will arise everyday.

Best of luck and keep us posted on your husband.

 

Hey,

 He did have half his stomach and part of his intestines removed. He is now on the chemo, and will start radiation after a week's rest, then back on the 5FU, then cisplatin and epirubican. Is this a typical treatment? What are other people on? I am so worried about him, but try to enjoy what we can each day. So far he is doing well, but I am concerned about the effects of the radiation etc. Thanks, Kay

Hi Im very sorry to hear about your husband. Seems like my grandfathers tratments are very alike so I will share them with you. I will refer to him as popa. Popa was diagnosed in Aug. 07 forst with esophageal cancer, upon firther testing they said it was gastric cancer stage 3. They removed 70% of his stomach and 3cm of the esophagus. During surgery he had a stroke. They removed 9 lymp nodes and 7 tested positive for cancer. He is on 5-fu and receiving radiation. FOr the first 2 months of treatment it was only the chemo 1 time a week. He has been on radiaiotn for 4 weeks with a 24/7 continous chemo pump. After next week then we have 2 months of just chemo left. In the begginning of treatment he was doing quite well, but when the 24/7 chemo and radiation began he went completely backwards. He is sleeping all the time and he has lost weight. He is on a feeding tube, but he continues to loose weight. The doctor prescribed some pot pills to give him an apetite, but they have yet to make him eat. He has began feeling pain in his chest /throat/ stomach which we think is from the heavy mix of chemo and radiaition. As for eating clear soups and cream of soups are a favorite in my house. Along with any sugary munchie snacks. Ice cream seems to be good too. My best advice to offer is be supportive in what ever happens. You'll encounter plenty of mood swings from your sick loved one, but dont take it personal I just laugh at popa when he is cranky and tell him I love him. Spend as much time as possible and live like you have never lived before. Smile and laugh and when you need to cry just go cry. Dont be mad or upset about his sickness accept it and help your husband fight it. Cherish every minute and stay positive and hope for the best. I wish you and your family the best and I hope you can overcome this horrible monster. I hope this has helped.

Kay, it sounds like you are on the right track for treatment. The chemo is pretty standard for the type of cancer he has. The surgery is also typical in the treatment.

 The only thing you can do is try your best to keep him motivated and treat the symptoms of the treatment. 5FU is scary. My dad was on it and it was pretty brutal. Metallic taste in the mouth, nausea, no apetite, the whole thing.

You will encounter many problems as you go along. If he has a J tube, it will get clogged, if he doesn't feel well and won't eat/drink, he will get dehydrated. There are many menial things that make this journey so difficult. The most problematic of all, for my mom, was the loss of her "romantic" figure. She became nurse and he patient. It was hardly recognizeable as a husband and wife relationship anymore. This was after things with his condition got really bad, but nonetheless, this was the hardest part. He tried his best to keep things normal but he didn't have the energy, couldn't go out to dinner becasue he threw up every 30 mins, etc. If you think it would help, seek some counseling for yourself to head these issues off at the pass.

 B