Gastrectomy/Spleen Removal

Hi everyone, my dad had been recently diagnoses with stomach ca. He followed the usual diagnostic procedures i.e. egd with biopsy, ct and upper gi series. On July 5th he had total gastrectomy and removal of part of his esophagus and spleen. The dr reports that this was "a very aggressive cancer". The surgery also involved the slow removal of theses organs from the posterior aspect of the abdominal cavity as the cancer had adhered to these structures. Dr. states "he sx was not curative by any means" and oncology consult follow up is in 6 weeks? Help. I love my family so much but I feel they are all in denial and I’m finding it difficult to act like there is nothing wrong or pressing for the next 6 weeks until we meet with an oncologist. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Hi there,

So sorry to hear about your dad. Sounds like you're living a similar situation to us. My Mother in Law was diagnosed with stomach cancer on June 25th. It's been a bit of a whirlwind and lots of unanswered questions since then.

So far, she had the usual battery of diagnotic tests, and last wednesday had 3/4 of her stomach removed, several lymph nodes and some of her large intestines. I was told today that she has been diagnosed as stage IV. She will be undergoing chemo therapy and radiation treatment and has already had her first consult with her oncologist. We're unsure at this point really, what the overall picture is. I gather they will also be doing a PET scan to see if there is any metastisis elsewhere (that were not detected during her surgery).

She is in otherwise good health and is a strong lady who has always taken good care of herself. While secretly, I don't believe that she will 'beat' this, I do think she will be a fighter and may have some time left. I am just hopeful that she doesn't spend what time she has left, suffering through debilitating therapy treatments that will decrease her quality of life and will not significantly improve her outcome. (The vote is still out on the latter comment.... I am certainly not suggesting that she not receive treatment that will help her or may provide relief and will prolong her life, if she is able to enjoy it...)


I don't know if any of this has helped you at all...but my advice is to seek more IMMEDIATE help for your dad than 6 weeks. That's a long time to wait to determine what your path/protocol will be. It may not change the start date (we were told my MIL will need to recouperate at home for 4-6 weeks before chemo can begin) but at least you won't be waiting all that time just to begin to put the pieces together in your heads and to get some sort of picture of where your dad is now.

Good luck to you and your dad!
cyndi

Please Please don't waste any time. Either by the book or CDs. Get this to your father right away. I will be praying for him.


Infinite Way by, Joel Goldsmith

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"There are only two ways to live your life... one is as though nothing is a miracle... the other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

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see the prayer cloth here http://groups.msn.com/TheChildrensBookWritersCafe/veilofvero

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The Veil of Veronica
Jesus was carrying his cross along the way to Golgotha, a pious woman offered
Him a veil to wipe the sweat and blood from his bruised face. When Jesus returned the cloth to her, it bore the impression of His face.