CancerCompass message board discussion started by ponygirl1967 on 9/27/2007 http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,16594,0.htm Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ Hello Everyone,  My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in April 2007. The doctors found a gigantic (in their words) stomach ulcer and found it to be cancer. They planned to operate to remove the cancer, however, when they went to go in, they found the cancer had spread to her diaphragm, lymph nodes and abdominal wall. They said it was no curable, only treatable. My mom immediately went to radiation, 5 days a week for a month and a half. At the same time she was sent to chemo. After the last radiation treatment, they continued with the chemo more aggressively. Her attitude through the whole thing has been great. She has never been depressed and does not feel sorry for her self at all. She doing everything she can to support the treatment. Here is where my question comes in. Just recently, they ran CT scans, bone scans and endoscope and took a biopsy where the tumor was in her stomach. All of the scans, the endoscope and the biopsy all came back clear of cancer. Her doctor is dumbfounded and wants to send her to the Mayo clinic for a second opinion on the results. We are all afraid to be too excited about what we are hearing. Her initial diagnosis was very poor and they did not have a good outlook for her.  Has anyone ever heard of something like this happening for a stage 4 stomach cancer patient? All of my research on line says it is unheard of and we fear that the news we received may be a mistake. Any feedback would be appreciated; the last few months have been a rollercoaster.   ponygirl1967 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Miracles happen all the time! You give me hope for my daddy! =) tashfish Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Wow thats amazing i wish that was my Mom!! Miracles do happen and it happened to your Mom! Did they say if it was the chemo or radiation that killed the cancer? Kiradoc Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Keep your hopes up I hope it all works out for you and your family Mike  mikeshan Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Thanks for your reply. I only hope this is real. I will say a prayer for your Dad. ponygirl1967 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT The doctor thinks it was a combination of the two. He was very aggressive in his treatment, however, he said that a patients attitude towards the disease plays a big part in how they respond to treatment. She still needs to go to Mayo to find out what is going on for sure, however, we are keeping a positive outlook and holding our breath. ponygirl1967 Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Keep the positive attitude!  That's great news and yes there have been stage IV survivors out there.  Steeda Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT I am so happy for you!  Let us know how it goes.  My Mother has stomach cancer, almost the same story.  However, my Mother doesn't seem to have any type of reaction good or bad.  I think your Mom's positive attitude is one of the keys to her recovery. You're in my thoughts.   8chalupa Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT i pray that this is the real thing. how wonderful. i have hope that my dad will fare well w/ chemo and have a positive reaction....but i feel like i am losing hope a little each day. i hate the unknown! keep us posted! kris lippygirl Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Thanks Kris, I wish the best for your Dad. I will know more next week, my Mom is due to go to her oncologist next week to get her trip to Mayo scheduled. ponygirl1967 Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Wow!  I could have wrote that same message!  Only it is my sister, not my mom.  She was diagnosed in November, was going to have surgery, but when they went in found the same thing, seeding to her peritneum, lymph nodes.  They sent her home to do chemo.  She did not have radiation.  The chemo made her very, very, sick.  She was hospitalized twice.  But...at her last PET scan and endoscopy there was no evidence of cancer.  They told her not to come back til mid November.  Even if it comes back, she has been given a gift, just like your mother.  It is so nice because she is feeling better and starting to enjoy life again.  Best of luck to you at Rochester.  That is where my sister was diagnosed. Amy Cassidyjo Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Hi,    My mom had something similar to your mom.  What exactly does your mom have?  My mom was diagnosed with linitis plastica which has a very poor prognosis in June 2006.  She had a ct scan combined with her pet scan along with blood tests end of October 2006 all  indicating that they couldn't find the cancer.  The doctors also seemed in disbelief.  So we were told to get ct/pet scans every three months.  Middle of December 2006, my mom started throwing up again.  We just didn't understand.  She was admitted in the hospital beginning of February 2007.  She was opened up and they found that the cancer had spread all over her stomach.  The ct/pet scans are not very accurate.  My mom passed away end of June 2007.  They don't detect microscopic cancer cells.  I think if my mom had tried the high dosage of vitamin c via iv, she would have still been alive.  I just want you to know that the tests are not accurate.   Thereishope Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT Hi,    I got your message.  My mom had linitis plastica which is the worst kind of stomach cancer according to the oncologist.  It's extremely aggressive.  Most people diagnosed with linitis plastica die about a year later.   I hope your mom doesn't have that.  My mom went through so much horror that I didn't think was possible.  Time seemed to went by really slow when my mom was sick.  Now that my mom is gone, I feel so blessed to have had her up to when she passed away.  God could have taken her away from us earlier.  I still cry everyday because I miss her so much.  Just be cautious about these ct scans/pet scans along with blood tests.  They are not very accurate.  Also, consider having your mom taking the vitamin c via iv.  You can find a provider at cancure.org  I wished my mom had taken it earlier before alot of her organs got damaged.  She might still have been alive.  If you have any questions, you can always reply back. '  Thereishope Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT Hi, I did hear of a similar case with the pancriatis cancer. I related it to my Da's doctor and she said that there are rear cases when cancer kills itself. Can you please tell me what chemo medication you Mom was on? My Dad has a stomach cancer. he underwent a surgery 6 years ago, but cancer came back last year. If your Mom took a different regiment, I may be able to ask my Dad's doctor if we should try it. Thanks in advance and GOOD LUCK to your Mom!!! prin1 Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT Thank you for your reply. I am trying to find out what regiment my mom had. She is seeing her doctor next week and I asked her to find out. It has been hard for me to get specific info since my mom is in Florida and I am in Illinois. I will let you know as soon as I find out. ponygirl1967 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT  I am so sorry for you loss. I am really close to my mom as well and even though we are in different states, I talk to her almost every day and can't imagine losing her. It would be a huge void in my life and I would cry every day too.  She is schedule to go to the Mayo Clinic on October 12th and hopefully we can find out what is going on. I know the doctor had said the cancer was aggressive, however, I need to find out exactly what kind it is. We are all very skeptical, including her doctor about the cancer being gone. He is very confused about all of the test coming back negative for cancer. I will have her ask the people at mayo about the vit C as well. I wish you the best and thank you so much for your help. I will let you know what happens. ponygirl1967 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT hope to hear that you have better news.  How's your mom doing right now? Thereishope Sat, 13 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT That is so awesome!! Please be sure to tell us all the regime and treatment your mother has started. My brother is 37 years old and was just diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. He was released from the hospital today and his story is quite similiar to your mothers including the affected organs. His attitude is and has been upbeat and I pray that he to will have the opportunity to have some joy in possibly PROVIDING hope to someone else that needs strength to overcome this dreadful disease. Thank you and all my prays go out to your mother and your family. rawhit33 Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT Update to my mom's condition. Well, since my original posting about the cancer being in remission, I have some very bad news. My mom starting having problems 2 weeks ago, they found a the tumor in her stomach again and decided to try an operate. When they opened her up, they found the cancer has spread everywhere and the cancer was all over her stomach, it was inoperable.  She has lost the ability to eat and is starting to experience alot of pain. They also put a GI tube in her stomach and are draining bile. The doctors say the prognosis is very poor and we do not think she has much time left. This is a terrible disease and it seem that it can very suddenly take a turn for the worst. I wish I had better news to report for the rest of you out there who are going through this yourselves of with loved ones. ponygirl1967 Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT My mom passed away on November 22nd, 6 days after her surgury. We took her home on hospice to die. This was the best decision we made for her. Hospice was a wonderful thing and keep her very comfortable. Wish I had better news, unfortunatly, this is very fast spreading disease. If any of your loved ones have this disease, be sceptical of CT Scans, they do not always show everthing. If the tumors are not big enough, they will not show up. My moms CT scans showed up as all clear, however, the cancer had actually spread all over her body. Turns out that the tumors were very small, too small to show up on the scans. ponygirl1967 Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT Hi,I was recently diagnosed with stage IV stomach cancer... i am a 25 years old and have been given a one year prognosis.  My daughter turned 5 months old today.  I just wondered where your mom received an aggressive treatment and who her doctor is.  I have been waiting 15 months for a diagnosis, the last four of which have been very painful.  I have been seen at REX, UNC Chapel Hill, and Duke, all in NC and still haven't received any kind of treatment.  I am willing to go wherever I need to.  Can you also respond to this message to my e-mail:  --Message edited by CancerCompass staff. For personal protection, email address removed. Consider private reply. Please review CancerCompass Member Guidelines at http://www.cancercompass.com/common/guidelines.html--   I sure do appreciate any information you can provide.   Thanks, Amanda  oceandreamscofc Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT Hello Amanda, I am really sorry to here about your illness, I have not been on here in months and apologize for not getting back to you. I hope you have received treatment since you wrote this in April!My mom's doctor was out of the Clearwater Florida area,  Araujo, Roberto A MD - Pasco Pinellas Cancer Ctr.I can't say that he was the best or not, my mom only made it 7 months, however, she was 76 years old too. Also, he did want to treat her more, however, she was too weak to handle all the chemo. You could seek advice from the Mayo clinic, they are the best and have all the latest information. http://www.mayoclinic.org/ I wish I could be more help, good luck to you. My prayers are with you and your family.  Diane ponygirl1967 Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT I do believe in miracles...cooincidenses and unexplained phenomonumall are God's way of remaining annomonous Bobonnadonna Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT