On 2/28/2008 marriedsoon wrote:
my fiance is on stage 3 already and is on his early 20's.. we just found out..he's been on the hospital a lot of times already and the doctors were not able to detect it as cancer. is stage 3 curable? if not..what is the average lifespan?
First let me caution you on life spans. When you research this topic, the information you will find is not promising, however, this disease is often more common in older americans and often is misdiagnosed for a long time which means that the cancer is widespread. Hopefully you and your fiance have caught is early enough to allow him a strong chance of beating it. Additionally, if he is of good health he will be able to withstand an aggressive chemo/surgical regimen to treat it.
I do not know much about Stage III since my 43 year old wife was diagnosed with Stage IV (March 07) even though we caught it when the stomach tumor was only 2-3 cm large it had already gotten to her liver. After only 4 rounds of a chemo regimen known as ECF (Epirubicin, Cisplatin, and 5FU) she was in remission (June 07) with no site of the cancer in either her liver or her stomach. Still, since it was stage IV the decision was made that surgery was not her best option and she continues on chemo today (Oxilaplatin / Xeloda).
My advice is to do as much research as you can. Surgery may be an option at this time and most research suggests chemo prior to and after surgery if you elect that route. Also, ALWAYS try to get second and/or third opinions regarding treatment and try to have a cancer center included in that group (ie. MD Anderson, Dana Farber, Sloan Kettering); we have often used information from alternate opinions to finalize our treatment choices. IF surgery is elected, it is important to find a surgical center that has performed this operation often; the researc suggests improved outcomes based on the number of surgeries they have performed.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you both. Remember, this is a war. Keep him motivated; attitude is an important part of treatment.
Sincerely
Steve Barrett
Hartford, CT