Stomach Cancer

I am a 39 yr old mother who has just received the new from an endoscopy that I have stomach cancer. At first the doctor thought it was only an ulcer, but I now realize I have a much tougher battle to go through than I had ever thought I would. I don't know what stage I am at yet, but will go for an MRI this friday. Does anyone out there know how long of a wait after the MRI results are back do they do surgery? Also if anyone out there has gone through a similar process leading up to this as me? First about 2 yrs ago I was diagnosed with simple acid reflux disease prescribed nexium and my life seemed to be fine. I could eat whatever and as long as I took my daily nexium felt no more heart burn. Until, this summer one day after taking a bite of a sandwich I couldnt get rid of a feeling that I had it stuck in my eosophagus. I started to gag and felt like I was choking, almost like the food went down the wrong pipe type of feeling. I didn't really think much was wrong at the time until my appetite slowly decreased and I had this similar reaction to eating several more times. Since the end of summer I have lost about 20 lbs, and find it increasingly more difficult to eat or drink, not to mention my appetite has decreased tenfold. If anyone has had a similar experience or can help please write me. I'm so afraid of whats next.

Dear Sabrina, Your MRI results should not take long depending on how quickly the radiologist reads them and forwards the information to your doctor. I am a 45 year old woman who was diagnosed on 12/31/03 with Cancer of the esophagus and stomach. My symptoms were very similar to yours and started right before Thanksgiving. I felt as though food was getting stuck and would not go down. Then I would get the hiccups and eventually, I would have to excuse myself from the table so that I could go vomit the food back up. This went on for two months. I started to lose weight rapidly and did not feel like eating because I did not want to go through the pain I mentioned above. I also was having quite a bit a pain in my back between my shoulder blades and was taking 32 Advil a day to ease the pain. I could not get comfortable when it was time to sleep and began sleeping on the couch with a heating pad. Going to work everyday became a chore and to make matters worse, I was covering for a co-worker who had colorectal cancer and was out of work having surgery and chemotherapy. I begged God if he would get me through Christmas I would call my doctor. The Monday after Christmas, I contacted my doctor and she saw me immediately. She ordered a CT Scan for that same day and made me an appointment with a Gastroentrologist. By the time I reached the hospital for the CT Scan, I was vomiting large amounts of blood. I was admitted into the hospital and had an EGD the next day. I was diagnosed with Andecarcinoma of the Esophagus and Stomach. Now to discuss your situation, I would definetly talk to your doctor about your esophagus as your symptoms sound identical to mine. I had numerous upper GI series completed, MRIs, PET Scans and chest xrays. I had two EGDs with biopsies. Upon completion of these tests, I was scheduled to begin 35 radiation treatments and would begin chemotherapy right away. The radiation was no problem for me, but the chemo made me violently ill. I vomited constantly and had terrible diarrhea. I lost all of my hair. I had to have a feeding tube installed as I could no longer eat and even drinking water became a problem. I developed an infection and had to be admitted into the hospital for a week to get the infection under control and to hydrate me as I had become dehydrated. Upon completion of the radiation and chemo, I had surgery on May 20th, 2004. I had to have two thirds of my esophagus removed and over one half of my stomach removed. They performed the Ivor-Lewis procedure where they pull up the stomach and connect to the remainder of my esophagus. They cut me from my navel to my breasts and under my right breasts to the middle of my back. They had to remove one rib and collapse my lungs. The surgery lasted ten hours. After surgery, I had drainage tubes from my lungs and stomach. I had a tube coming out of my nose and I was on oxygen. I was in the hospital for 10 days and I will not lie to you, it was pure hell. My recouperation was very slow, I went home with the feeding tube, staples up my stomach, staples from my rib cage to back, a port to receive further chemotherapy treatments and oxygen. I had to be a therapeutic breathing machine. In August, I resumed chemotherapy three times a week which lasted an additional three months. Eventually, I was weaned from the oxygen, staples were removed, tubes were removed and I began to eat. It was a difficult process, like teaching a baby to eat again. Very small bites and very small portions. I had lost a total of 50 pounds. When I was first diagnosed, the doctors did not think I would make it. The only thing that I had going for me was that I was young (43) and that the cancer had not spread to my liver or lymph nodes. Originally they had diagnosed me as stage four but after the PET scan changed it to stage three. I would definetly recommend that you seek treatment at a major medical center that specializes in your type of cancer. I traveled 5 hours each way to Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia for my surgery. My surgeon was excellent had done many surgeries. Local surgeons had no experience in this type of surgery and my family would not allow them to operate on me. The traveling was awful and I was so sick, but in the long run, it was the best decision we made. Please ask your doctor to schedule a PET Scan. They inject you with Radioactive Sugar and then you ride through a tunnel. Cancer reacts to sugar and it is the most definitive test to determine if the cancer has spread anywhere in your body. If you can no longer swallow, try drinking Carnation Instant breakfast, ensure or boost. Baby food is good, ice cream, peanut butter, mashed potatoes. Stay away from bread, meat, lettuce. They get stuck very easy. If you cannot digest anything I have mentioned, please ask your doctor about a feeding tube. Nutrition is very important. I am here to answer any questions you might have. This May, will mark my two anniversary of being Cancer free. I now able to eat just about anything I want. Every so often, I have to have my esophagus stretched so that food does not get stuck. I have gained back 25 pounds and I am slowly regaining my strength and able to do things I used to do. I wish you luck in your search for answers and treatment. Please contact me as much as you like and keep me updated on your treatment. I hope that my story does not scare you, it was meant to be informative and inspirational. You CAN SURVIVE. Be strong and be patient, and God will see you through.

Anewdawn, Thank you so much for replying. I think you are another hero for surviving your ordeal. Wow, you sure went through a lot. God bless you for your positive attitude. Although I feel really afraid of what is to come I will remain to be optimistic and positive, because I know the mind is a powerful tool in helping one heal their body of anything.. I now have an appointment with a surgeon right after my CT scan. I made a mistake before calling it a MRI.I am going to try to watch all the funny movies I can because I want to try to keep my mind in a healthy state. The one good thing is that I am in in Toronto an hour drive from both Mt Sinai and Princess Margaret hospital. They are both really reputable hospitals dealing with cancer treatments. I will keep you posted on what happens, and we can chat back and forth. Pray for me on Friday that my cancer is not so advanced.... Again, God bless and talk to you soon... p.s. hope you had a lovely Valentines Day!!!

Dear Sabrina, I am glad that you are trying to keep a positive attitude. That is very important for getting you through the adventure you are about to go on. A CT Scan is not bad and they should be able to give you your results rather quickly. I will be praying for you on Friday. Please contact me and let me know how it goes. Take care and stay strong as the battle is about to get rough. And yes I had a wonderful valentines day. Each day that I am here to enjoy my family and friends is a gift from God. Dawn

hello anewdawn, Well I had my CT scan earlier today, and It went ok. By the afternoon I got some results from a rough written draft. From what I was told by my family doctor is that there is no spreading of the cancer to any of my major organs(thank god!!) but I have thickening of the gastric wall mostly at the fundis(top part of stomach)no significant adenopathy is seen in the surrounding tissue but some mild prominence of the serosal vessels. Both my doctor and I aren't sure about what that means. I have no idea. I guess when I see the Oncologist on Tuesday(my Birthday Feb 21) I guess I'll be completely informed. If you know any of these terms or they sound familiar let me know!!??? Anyway, I am somewhat happier knowing that nothing has spread, and hopefully it is an early stage. I pray to God it is!!! I am still very nervous and scared. But I will fight harder than I have ever fought in my life. By the way, another thing that scares me is my weight. I am 5ft5" and weigh a mere 109, at this point. I couldn't afford to lose a ton of weight, I'd waste away before I got better.

Dear Sabrina, I am sorry that I do not know what those medical terms mean. I tried to look them up on the internet for you but had no luck finding the information and what I did find I did not understand. I guess thats why the doctors make the big bucks. I am so happy for you that the cancer has not mets to any other organs. That is so important!! What a way to spend your birthday. Hopefully, you will receive good news from your doctor and that will be the best gift you could receive. You must try and maintain your weight or even gain a few pounds if possible. How is your appetite? Try and force yourself to eat as many calories as possible to keep your strength up. If you have to have chemotherapy, you will defintely lose weight and you are right you cannot afford to do so. I admire you for keeping a positive attitude. That is SO important. I think you are doing great considering everything that is happening to you. Please contact me after you see your Oncologist on Tuesday. I am anxious to hear what he/she has to say. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers. God Bless you during this very difficult time. Dawn

Hi Cookie, I am a 61 year old male in Missouri. On 5/10/05 I was diagnosed with esophagus cancer.Went to Barnes Hosp in St. Louis where they did a bunch of tests, were going to cut off my esophagus and part of stomach and stretch stomach up thru chest. When they attempted the operation, my stomach was totally gone, something called "linitis plastica" which means leather bottle. Cancer had spread to bottom of esophagus and a couple of nearby lymph nodes. They deemed the surgery impossible, put in a J feeding tube since I was having swallowing trouble too. Got started on chemo right away. Took a drug called Emend to prevent nausea, it worked very well, never did vomit. Took three kinds of chemo, epirubison, cisplatin and 5fu. Had port put in for the chemo, was on feeding tube machine for about 6 weeks, got to where I could swallow and eat fine so we pulled the tube out. My chemo consisted of one all day session then go home with 5fu pump into port for 3 weeks, take a week off then do it all again, had six rounds of this, basically 6 months. I am staged 3-A stomach cancer. My latest PET/CT scans are totally clear, have had no chemo for almost 3 months, expect to get back on it soon as preventative. Strongly suggest you go to WWW.blochcancer.org or call them 1-800-433-0464. They don't want your money, they just want to help. They can even put you in touch with a stomach cancer survivor if you want. You will see lots of help online, or they will mail free books to you, all funded by one ot the guys who started H&R Bloch. Please continue to believe you can beat this, that is most important. I will pray for you and remember you on your birthday, Les

Dear Les, Thank you so much for writing me. I guess we all have one thing in common, and that is to fight, and survive. I truly believe that if we keep optimistic, and positive, we can beat this cancer. Also, it is important to keep our faith and trust in god. I hope you are doing ok, and like myself, keep positive. There is not much else we can do. One other thing I'd like to say is keep on watching funny movies, and not depressing ones, because it really helps. Laughter sends all kinds of positive results as well. Like the old saying, "laughter is the best medicine!!" I will find out more on Tuesday when I meet with my Oncologist. I hope and pray to god that my prognosis will lean much more on the positive side. Anyway, thank you also for the Birthday wishes! and may god bless you and make you well! Sabina

My friend Erin is getting ready to begin Chemo and Radiation after being diag with stage III in her esophageous. She is working with Dr. Sun at Univ of PA Medical. She will have 5 weeks of treatment prior to surgery --- Can you tell me who was your surgeon at Fox Chase? Yours is the second post I found that says Fox Chase is the best for this procedure. Nancy for Erin

To anewdawn and others: What is the best surgeon at Fox Chase Philadelphia for Esophageal Cancer? Does anyone have comments this "Ivor-Lewis" procedure? I hear Fox Chase Philadelphia has the surgeon who wrote the book??? Nancy for my friend Erin, age 27