Stomach cancer at 34: About to start chemo and nervous

Sadly, I have cared for two stomach cancer patients already. My husband got relief from Zofran and from rest. He had some very rough chemo as they were going for a cure with him. Sometimes, going to the chemo center for an infusion of fluids gave him some relief. He did have some side effects like neuropathy and hair loss that are much better now. He was diagnosed in January 2021. My husband also had to get chemo-radiation. I don’t know if you have to get that or not. He got that after the chemo.

My mother got palliative chemo. She had diffuse gastric cancer. The anti-nausea medicines actually made her worse, I am sorry to say. We found a combination of other things she would do before chemo that seemed to help her (even though no one recommended this approach). For her, some Dramamine and sea bands before the chemo seemed to lessen her symptoms. She also tried hard candy type things like Queasy drops and ginger chews. At first she liked them but then seemed to associate them with chemo and did not like them any more.

Please respond to me if I can be of any help or reassurance. My husband had to get a total gastrectomy and is still fighting the fight. His brother had the same thing in Venezuela. My husband was found to have Lynch syndrome from a genetic test and warned his siblings. His brother’s cancer was found at an earlier stage and he is doing very well after his chemo and gastrectomy.

If you have to get a gastrectomy, I can tell you more about that if you like.

Hi @juand, I'd like to add my welcome along with @davidday1965.
I can imagine that you're nervous about chemotherapy, especially if the oncologist says it's going to be intense. Just remember that everyone is different. I'm also tagging fellow stomach cancer patients and caregivers like @twocents @kbcutiepie @nrocpop @lastbelle so they can share their tips on what helped get through chemo.

Juan, have you started chemo now? How are you doing?

Hello Juan well sorry to hear about your stomach cancer I also had gastric adenocarcinoma diagnosed in March of 2022 I had 4 rounds of chemo FLOT than a pet scan and my surgeon said chemo really was killing my tumor so he had me do 4 more rounds of chemo FLOT total of 8 I had side affects such as hair loss of course,nausea and nerapathy in my hands and feet than had my surgery which was a total gastrectomy full stomach removal in August it's only been 5 months but I am cancer free so it's all worth it listen to your oncologist keep up on fluids and eating well and try and stay active and a positive attitude it really helps. Before surgery I weighed 190lbs today I am 156lbs and holding my surgeon told be I could loose about 30lbs he was pretty close. I could go on I look at the Mayo Connect every day so I will look forward to your post to see how you are doing take care stay strong. Dave