 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Cancer / May 2004I Can't believe this -- Now my brother has cancer!
I've been posting here occasionally because I have CRC stage IV and am in the midst of chemo treatment. I come from a large family - 10 siblings - and they've been supporting me tremendously during my trials. We've come together like at no other time. A few weeks ago one of my brothers (age 53. I'm 56) was complaining about stomach pains. He was diagnosed with an ulcer. A few days ago the pain was so bad he admitted himself to the ER. Tests showed he has more than an ulcer in his stomach - he's got a tumor. Scans also showed something peculiar about his liver the diagnosis of which was "inconclusive." Only thing the doc said was that the cancer appeared to be a very rare kind in the US. They took a biopsy but results wont be in til Monday. He had a colonoscopy done about a month ago per my demand, which showed nothing unusual. This is not making my time easy. And he and his wife are floored by it. I don't know much about stomach cancer. I know the mortality rates for my kind of cancer. Anyone know what they are for Stomach cancer? I'm not trying to be morbid and I don't intend to share such kind of info with him, but I need to know for my own well-being. Thanks. "My life is made up of units of time: buying CDs - 2 units; eating lunch - 3 units; exercising - 2 units. All in all, I had a very full life. It's just that it didn't mean anything." --Hugh Grant, character of WIll, in "About A Boy" _________________________________ "Take a little 5FU, leucovorin and oxaliplatin for thy stomach's sake." -- 1 Timothy 5:23 (adapted) > I've been posting here occasionally because I have CRC stage IV and am > in the midst of chemo treatment. I come from a large family - 10 [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Thanks. <snip> Five-Year Survival Statistics by Stage The 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is diagnosed. Many of these patients live much longer than 5 years after diagnosis, and 5-year rates are used to produce a standard way of discussing prognosis. Five-year relative survival rate excludes patients dying of other diseases and are considered to be a more accurate way to describe the prognosis for patients with a particular type and stage of cancer. The 5-year survival rates for stomach cancer by stage are: Stage 0: 89% Stage IA: 78% Stage IB: 58% Stage II: 34% Stage IIIA: 20% Stage IIIB: 8% Stage IV: 7% These 5-year survival rates are based on patients diagnosed and initially treated more than 5 years ago. Improvements in treatment often result in a more favorable outlook for recently diagnosed patients. I read somewhere that combining surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy improved the mean survival rate from 22% to 43%. I can't find that study at this time, I will continue to look for it. HTH Jerry >> I've been posting here occasionally because I have CRC stage IV and am >> in the midst of chemo treatment. I come from a large family - 10 [quoted text clipped - 62 lines] > > Jerry I can't find that particular study again. However, I found numerous other references to improvements in outcome of stomach cancer by combining treatments. The percentage numbers varied between studies, so I would not take the 22% to 43% numbers as gospel. The diagnosis and staging information is needed to get a more accurate estimate of your brother's outlook. The location of the cancer in the stomach(top/bottom)can also determine survivability. Maybe someone on the group can give you more information. Jerry (not a doctor, a kidney cancer patient) > I've been posting here occasionally because I have CRC stage IV and am > in the midst of chemo treatment. I come from a large family - 10 [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > not trying to be morbid and I don't intend to share such kind of info > with him, but I need to know for my own well-being. Hi Joe, I'll give you what I have http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=3896 6 types of stomach cancer http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancerinfo/types/stomach/ (has cellular classifications) http://www.oncologychannel.com/gastriccancer/ This one doesn't go into types but mentions location more frequently found in the US - proximal vs distal and http://www.medicinenet.com/Stomach_Cancer/article.htm shows the organ locations so you can approximate location (correlate it to the previous website). http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual_home2/sb/sb131_2.jsp Let's hope there's a surgical cure and that what they see on the liver is an incidental but benign finding. Best wishes Joe, Let us know J > I don't know much about stomach cancer. I know the mortality rates for > my kind of cancer. Anyone know what they are for Stomach cancer? I'm > not trying to be morbid and I don't intend to share such kind of info > with him, but I need to know for my own well-being. When I was researching my cancer I found Oncolink. http://www.oncolink.com/ Lots of Information. Hmmm - same 5-year survival rates for stomach & CRC cancer. Wouldn't that be the pits if both of us died on the same day. -joe >> I don't know much about stomach cancer. I know the mortality rates for >> my kind of cancer. Anyone know what they are for Stomach cancer? I'm [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > >Lots of Information. _________________________________ "Take a little 5FU, leucovorin and oxaliplatin for thy stomach's sake." -- 1 Timothy 5:23 (adapted) > Hmmm - same 5-year survival rates for stomach & CRC cancer. Wouldn't > that be the pits if both of us died on the same day. > -joe Any news (details) Joe? Hugs J >> Hmmm - same 5-year survival rates for stomach & CRC cancer. Wouldn't >> that be the pits if both of us died on the same day. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Hugs >J Only details known now are tumor is adenacarcinoma and the docs want to get him on chemo right away. Tomorrow (Fri) he has another consultation when he expects to get the full story. --joe _________________________________ "Take a little 5FU, leucovorin and oxaliplatin for thy stomach's sake." -- 1 Timothy 5:23 (adapted) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.