My mom was just diagnosed with Stomach Cancer

Hope4Elena
Hope4Elena Member Posts: 3
in Stomach Cancer #1

Hi everyone,

 

We just found out our mom has gastric cancer. 

Since April of this year, my mom has been complaining about pain in her stomach and fullness in her chest when eating. She was given the most incompetent doctor who was on vacation all the time and failed to have her checked out. They rarely got back to my parents about anything and then in August of this year, she went to the emergency at Saint Francis. The doctor there did a bunch of tests and biopsy. Everything came out negative and was told that she had inflamation that can be taken care of with diet changes and prescribed medication.

She never got better... in this whole time, her weight dropped from 180 to 150. She has to throw up now in order to eat. She is always hungry.

This week, she was taken to USC medical center where several tests were done. She's been there the whole week. They found 2 masses- one on her esophagus and one on her stomach that hadn't been seen before. It came out as cancer. 

Until yesterday, we didn't know what was wrong. The already put in a stint to allow food to go down, but she's miserable and throwing up with lots of pain. She had her CT scan and today, we recieved news that devestated us. 

We don't know what stage she's in, but they had found that it's in several lymph nodes- including some in her lungs. She's 60 and she's pretty strong- been through a lot physcially and emotionally. 

 

Has anyone every received a diagnosis of this kind? What was the outcome?

Comments

  • Hope4Elena
    Hope4Elena Member Posts: 3
    #2
    I'm hoping someone writes

    I'm hoping someone writes back...

     

     

    She was staged at 4. Stage 4. It's still just in her lymph nodes and part of her lung. Has anyone survived this? She was given 9 months to 2 years to live.

  • Hillarjr
    Hillarjr Member Posts: 7
    #3
    Hope4Elena said:

    I'm hoping someone writes

    I'm hoping someone writes back...

     

     

    She was staged at 4. Stage 4. It's still just in her lymph nodes and part of her lung. Has anyone survived this? She was given 9 months to 2 years to live.

    All is not lost

    Hello again, I responded to a message you sent me earlier.  I am a physician, as well as a 4 year (so far) stage 4 stomach cancer survivor.  My tumor was positive for the HER-2 protein, which occurs in about 20% of stomach cancers.  please make sure that your mother has been tested for it.  A new medication (Herceptin) was approved for my kind of stomach cancer just one month before I was diagnosed.  It is what I is keeping me alive.  There are several new treatments that will be ready soon.  If your mother's initial treatments work, great!  If not, ask about clinical trials of new treatments.  When I was in medical school, patients would sometimes say "If I can just hold on a little bit longer, maybe they will discover a new treatment.". Sadly, it was not true then, but sometimes it really is true now.  This disease still has a poor prognosis,but it is much better than it used to be.  Also, your mother's symptoms should be a lot better controlled than they were at the time of your first post.  If not controlled yet, please consider getting a little obnoxious in demanding better symptom control.  Love and prayers for you both.

  • Hope4Elena
    Hope4Elena Member Posts: 3
    #4
    Hillarjr said:

    All is not lost

    Hello again, I responded to a message you sent me earlier.  I am a physician, as well as a 4 year (so far) stage 4 stomach cancer survivor.  My tumor was positive for the HER-2 protein, which occurs in about 20% of stomach cancers.  please make sure that your mother has been tested for it.  A new medication (Herceptin) was approved for my kind of stomach cancer just one month before I was diagnosed.  It is what I is keeping me alive.  There are several new treatments that will be ready soon.  If your mother's initial treatments work, great!  If not, ask about clinical trials of new treatments.  When I was in medical school, patients would sometimes say "If I can just hold on a little bit longer, maybe they will discover a new treatment.". Sadly, it was not true then, but sometimes it really is true now.  This disease still has a poor prognosis,but it is much better than it used to be.  Also, your mother's symptoms should be a lot better controlled than they were at the time of your first post.  If not controlled yet, please consider getting a little obnoxious in demanding better symptom control.  Love and prayers for you both.

    I just saw your reply! Thank

    I just saw your reply! Thank you so much for responding! She still hasn't started treatment yet. They just gave her two drugs and then she needs to schedule a treatment with her oncologist. I'm not 100% sure. I spoke to NY dad over the phone. I'll find out what medications she has. Would I be able to look at a blood test report for the hep protein? I wish I could be able to go to her appointments to ask questions. My parents are always unsure what they give her, English is their second language, so they don't always interpret what the doctor says accurately. My siblings don't understand either. My brother told us all that my mom had radiation a few weeks ago, but it was a barium swallow. I wish there was I way I could find out. I never have a chance to meet her doctors to ask questions and the nurses that are there and know everything don't want to violate HIPPA.

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