I wanted to respond so you would know that others have walked your path. Dec. 19, 2006, my son-in-law was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. It was confirmed on Dec. 22--our Christmas was a disaster. He began treatment at the Mayo clinic with a 6% survival rate on Jan. 2nd. Even the drs doubted that he would survive for surgery. He did! On March 13th they were able to operate. They removed his entire stomach, 40% of his pancreas, his spleen, many lymph nodes, and 4" of his esphagus. They attached his small intestine to the remaining esphagus. It was a long road, but well worth the journey. He has had three clear scans! Our holiday was so much better this year. It took until early Dec. for him to feel better. He is eating, off all medication and gaining weight. He is back at work part time. It is really a credit to his courage and positive attitude. You might check out carepages.com for other inspirational stories. I hope that your journey is smooth and that next year you will be writing a survivor's story. I know that miracles happen and that someone has to be in the survivor statistic. It may as well be you. Best of luck, I'll check back to see how you are doing.