Advice or information on stage 3 stomach cancer

Welcome to Connect. Would you like to tell us a bit more about what your treatment plan might be, and how you are doing? I'm going to ask a moderator to connect you if possible to more people in your situation. What do your doctors say? And how are you feeling?

@kayleahb, Hi Kaycia I’m sure this is a very frightening time for you and that you have a ton of questions about ‘what now’ after your diagnosis.

Stomach cancer isn’t an area I’m familiar with but we have quite a few members or their loved ones in Connect who have dealt with this health situation. Here is a link to many of those conversations. I didn’t know which would be most relevant for you so I’m posting them all. Please scroll down to read through these and feel free to pop into any conversation!
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/
Also, our own Mayo Clinic website has a good informational article about stomach cancer and treatments. Oncologist, Dr Mohamad (Bassam) Sonbol, produced a video that I thought was most helpful.
Here’s a link to that video:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/stomach-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20352443
What has your doctor discussed with you as far as treatments? Are you near a larger teaching/research hospital?

@mir123 Physically I'm feeling much better then before I received the news about the big C monster. My Dr. Told me that I may need 2 to 3 rounds of threpy before surgery can be done .I live in Guyana 🇬🇾 and the cancer hospital here to have many of the advance treatments so I'm very scared 😱

@kayleahb Thank you for checking in. I found the scariest part (I have breast cancer) to be before I started treatment because so much was unknown. The mentor Lori posted some useful information above, that I think will be helpful.

HI Kaycia
I wish you well. I am sorry you have received what must be a very frightening diagnosis. I want to give you some hope if you follow doctor recommendations. My husband was treated at Mayo Clinic for stage 4a stomach cancer and he is now alive five years later. In the beginning, the treatments and surgery were very very hard but it gets better after that. His brother, in Venezuela, also had stage 3 stomach cancer and is also alive five years later and doing much better. If you have any questions about their experiences, I am here to answer.
Theresa

Hi Theresa I'm happy your husband is doing better.
I'm am a mother of a 6 yrs old and wanting so much to see her get better stories like your husband gives me hope.
If you don't mind sharing
What was his systems that led him to check with his dr?
What the treatment offered to him?
Where the cancer had spread to?
What was his diet before and after treatment and surgery?
I know it is a lot to be asking and everyone is different but I am desperate and confused
Thank you so much for reaching out.
With love
Kaycia

@kayleahb Kayla

Before the time my husband got sick, he was in excellent physical shape from exercising and eating well. He had lentils and vegetables, among other foods, every day. First, my husband had noticed he was not as strong as he used to be but he did not think much of it. He also lost a little bit of weight and he thought that was because he did not work out as much. He started having burps that smelled very bad. This was actually caused by necrotic tissue in his stomach but he did not know that. He started to be even weaker and his stools were black by the time he got diagnosed. He was severely anemic at that time. When he went to Mayo Clinic, they gave him a ct scan, a PET scan, exploratory surgery, etc. The cancer had left his stomach but had spread only nearby to his liver and not all through his abdominal cavity. He had 8 sessions of FLOT chemotherapy which was very hard on him. After that, he had chemo-radiation. They had determined his tumor to be adenosquamous which is a very rare type. His tumor was 10cm but it did shrink from all the chemotherapy and ratiation. After that time, he had a total gastrectomy. Following the gastrectomy (which was during the COVID scare) he had recalcitrant strictures in the anastomosis (where the esophagus is joined to the intestines). We returned many many many times for stretching of the anastomosis and even stents. None of this worked and he ended up getting a total revision surgery. This means they cut out all the scar tissue and sewed him back together with a different kind of sutures. His surgeries were done robotically. Well, after the revision surgery, he had to be on a feeding tube temporarily because he had become so very thin from being unable to eat during the complications. The feeding tube allowed him to put on some weight and then they removed it. For a few years now, he can eat most foods. He has to chew thoroughly and eat often. He really enjoys his lentils with vegetables and he is back to eating those even though he really needs to maximize calories. He adds olive oil to most of his foods, and some butter as well, to increase calories. Please ask me any questions you wish to ask. The only reason I go on Mayo Clinic Connect is to try and help people that find themselves in a similar situation -- a patient like my husband or a caregiver like myself. I just want to be helpful because I know what a hart time it is and I would like others to have help. I hope you are treated soon and get all the way well again. God bless you. You are in my prayers. Theresa

@kayleahb Kaycia -- I am sorry my computer autocorrected the spelling of your name

@nrocpop thank you so much for sharing.This gives me a lot of hope .
The cancer has not spared to other organs but it has spread to my nearby lymphnod the tomor measures 2cm in the pliloric region of my stomach all other parts of the stomach is normal in texture and color. I have never had black stool but was passed very bad smelling gas. I can still tolerate my regular potions of food and I have no problem with keeping it down but I'm constantly gassy.
My biggest concern is that I will not get the latest treatment since its not available in my country, which by the way is know now as the country with the fastest growing economic in the world can you imagine?
Thank you again I will be keeping you posted on how my treatment is going.

@mir123 what I was to so far is that my tomor is 2cm in the pliloric region of my stomach and the nearby lymphnod are enlarge the cancer had not spread to any other organs blood vessel or bones. As it related to treatment I am waiting on result from a her2 test to decide the line of treatment before surgery.