Has anyone been diagnosed stage 3 or 4 with such minimal symptoms???

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p.white
p.white Member Posts: 6
edited April 2011 in Stomach Cancer #1
My father has been told they suspect stomach cancer. he vomited blood once on 21st january 2011 which prompted him to seek medical help and has been anaemic ever since, he has no pain but his GP has said sometimes "pain" from stomach cancers can manifest as a ravenous hunger instead, he sometimes feels hungry when he knows he shouldnt but he wouldnt call it ravenous, he is eating fine, he has excessive belching and passing of wind and has dark stools from digested blood and often doesnt crap for 2-3 days.They have done the relevant tumour marker tests once, which reported high levels in the CEA test which was 24, apparently something like 4 is normal.
We are currently waiting for another test to see if they have elevated.
Drs are doing an exploritory operation to sight the cancer in mid may and then they will proceed from there.
We are going through the public health system so there are long waiting lists, so in the mean time he has only been seeing a GP. he has been tracking his red blood cell count which had gone up at such a rate his GP thought it might be at either an earlier stage or something benign but since blood is still in his stool it means he's only producing more blood than hes losing as opposed to it not bleeding anymore.
My queries are, has anyone been diagnosed stage 3 or 4 with such minimal symptoms as these?? or given the symptoms can it really be so far along already? he is 61 y/0 male weighing 130kg's

Comments

  • Lilllly
    Lilllly Member Posts: 16
    #2
    Possibly
    Possibly, but symptoms are symptoms, which is why they need to be examined and tested properly. I think everyone is a little different.

    For us, my dad became quite ill one day after a large dinner, then seemed okay. We blamed the restaurant with a mix of overeating. A few months later, he became extremely ill, then appeared fine. The doctor pushed for further tests, and we were completely blindsided to find his diagnosis of Stage IV stomach cancer. The tumor was the size of a plum. It was shocking, since though he was very ill on those occasions, he seemed okay. We never in our wildest dreams thought it could be cancer. I'm sure for others that fear the worst, it could turn out to be an acidity imbalance of some sort and is treatable. Your father's symptoms could turn out to be one of I'm sure a list of things, and I hope it is found soon so it can be worked on being treated.

    Hope and bless, let us know.
  • p.white
    p.white Member Posts: 6
    #3
    Lilllly said:

    Possibly
    Possibly, but symptoms are symptoms, which is why they need to be examined and tested properly. I think everyone is a little different.

    For us, my dad became quite ill one day after a large dinner, then seemed okay. We blamed the restaurant with a mix of overeating. A few months later, he became extremely ill, then appeared fine. The doctor pushed for further tests, and we were completely blindsided to find his diagnosis of Stage IV stomach cancer. The tumor was the size of a plum. It was shocking, since though he was very ill on those occasions, he seemed okay. We never in our wildest dreams thought it could be cancer. I'm sure for others that fear the worst, it could turn out to be an acidity imbalance of some sort and is treatable. Your father's symptoms could turn out to be one of I'm sure a list of things, and I hope it is found soon so it can be worked on being treated.

    Hope and bless, let us know.

    If it really was something
    If it really was something as simple as a chemical imbalance in the stomach then there wouldnt be blood in his stool, blood is only present if an obstruction (such as a tumor) is present in the lining of the stomach or the colon and is preventing it from healing creating an endless wound, hence the continuius blood present in the digestive tract.
  • liveinhope
    liveinhope CSN Member Posts: 83
    #4
    p.white said:

    If it really was something
    If it really was something as simple as a chemical imbalance in the stomach then there wouldnt be blood in his stool, blood is only present if an obstruction (such as a tumor) is present in the lining of the stomach or the colon and is preventing it from healing creating an endless wound, hence the continuius blood present in the digestive tract.

    Hi,Unless a gastroscopy is
    Hi,Unless a gastroscopy is done it could be anything.Cancer markers are more useful as a follow-up test.As you say there is an ulcer somewhere in the upper digestive tract.Gastric cancers are treacherous in the very vague and minimal symtoms one has.
    All the best.I can imagine you would be waiting impatiently for May.
  • Lilllly
    Lilllly Member Posts: 16
    #5
    p.white said:

    If it really was something
    If it really was something as simple as a chemical imbalance in the stomach then there wouldnt be blood in his stool, blood is only present if an obstruction (such as a tumor) is present in the lining of the stomach or the colon and is preventing it from healing creating an endless wound, hence the continuius blood present in the digestive tract.

    Sorry, I was not suggesting
    Sorry, I was not suggesting that as a diagnosis for your case, it was a comment to illustrate that there can be a wide, varying spectrum of possibilities from any symptom, which is why symptoms alone can't be trusted without proper tests run. Hope you find out soon. Bless.
  • have2believe
    have2believe CSN Member Posts: 134
    #6
    Lilllly said:

    Sorry, I was not suggesting
    Sorry, I was not suggesting that as a diagnosis for your case, it was a comment to illustrate that there can be a wide, varying spectrum of possibilities from any symptom, which is why symptoms alone can't be trusted without proper tests run. Hope you find out soon. Bless.

    my mom had minimal symptoms stage 4
    She felt a tightening at the waist, almost as though her bra had been put on too tight. She also had a swollen lymph node by her neck. That was what made it stage 4. No blood in stools, CEA levels normal (even now), normal appetite....an endoscopy was what confirmed cancer.
  • p.white
    p.white Member Posts: 6
    #7
    Lilllly said:

    Sorry, I was not suggesting
    Sorry, I was not suggesting that as a diagnosis for your case, it was a comment to illustrate that there can be a wide, varying spectrum of possibilities from any symptom, which is why symptoms alone can't be trusted without proper tests run. Hope you find out soon. Bless.

    didnt mean to sound kurt, i
    didnt mean to sound kurt, i know you werent guessing...im just stressed, as im sure anyone on this sight can empathize. read somewhere today that catherine zeta-jones's bipolar condition has excellerated due to the stress of lookng after her husband michael douglas when he fought throat cancer recently lol so whats new eh? the world keeps turning and everythings constantly changing and their aint squat we can do to stop it.
  • p.white
    p.white Member Posts: 6
    #8
    p.white said:

    didnt mean to sound kurt, i
    didnt mean to sound kurt, i know you werent guessing...im just stressed, as im sure anyone on this sight can empathize. read somewhere today that catherine zeta-jones's bipolar condition has excellerated due to the stress of lookng after her husband michael douglas when he fought throat cancer recently lol so whats new eh? the world keeps turning and everythings constantly changing and their aint squat we can do to stop it.

    just for the record i hope
    just for the record i hope everyone is doing ok and to not get too discouraged at the statistics as they are stacked against us, and just remember that SOMEONE has to be in the small percentage that beat this **** **** illness. i just wish that treatment in my own country (new zealand) was as good as what it is in the states. im always reading about people in this country being unsuccesfull so they end up re-mortgaging their house and bending over backwards just to get treated there.
    Whats more is that health care here is free so there are waiting lists a mile long, my dad is only listed as semi-urgent...SEMI! and then money doctors here get paid is pittance in comparison to other countries so all our doctors which have loaded our government up with student loans, to pay their education, up and leave here the first chance they get so they end up not repaying their loans which strain our govt' and then we get a bunch of third world doctors that we can barely understand and i swear to god they only go to work to eat their lunch and im convinced they found their degrees at the bottom of a cereal box!! anyway this was supposed to be a happy, "one day at a time" kinda post, instead it became a rant of NZ's healthcare shortcomings haha be of good table. .get it? cheer chair lol
  • Lilllly
    Lilllly Member Posts: 16
    #9
    p.white said:

    just for the record i hope
    just for the record i hope everyone is doing ok and to not get too discouraged at the statistics as they are stacked against us, and just remember that SOMEONE has to be in the small percentage that beat this **** **** illness. i just wish that treatment in my own country (new zealand) was as good as what it is in the states. im always reading about people in this country being unsuccesfull so they end up re-mortgaging their house and bending over backwards just to get treated there.
    Whats more is that health care here is free so there are waiting lists a mile long, my dad is only listed as semi-urgent...SEMI! and then money doctors here get paid is pittance in comparison to other countries so all our doctors which have loaded our government up with student loans, to pay their education, up and leave here the first chance they get so they end up not repaying their loans which strain our govt' and then we get a bunch of third world doctors that we can barely understand and i swear to god they only go to work to eat their lunch and im convinced they found their degrees at the bottom of a cereal box!! anyway this was supposed to be a happy, "one day at a time" kinda post, instead it became a rant of NZ's healthcare shortcomings haha be of good table. .get it? cheer chair lol

    You're right, someone does
    You're right, someone does have to be in the small percentage. Unfortunately with stomach cancer being so rare and second rated deadly (at least in my country), I also became frustrated with the health care available and options. I found doctors frequently at crossroads, and felt like there was constant "no man's land" to walk through with no experiences or history to be found. That is why places like this are so important, this was the only place I could "research" by experience.

    One day at a time... :) Keep your chin up.

    If you're going through hell....keep going.

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