Stomach cancer which has spread to liver - target therapy

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Hi,

I'm new to this group and looking down the discussions trying to find anything that will help me understand more. My Mum has recently been diagnosed with stomach cancer that has spread to the liver. The surgical team first met with her and told her that this would be treatable, they could cut it out. The following week her case went to a further review panel where she was later told it was inoperable. The type of cancer she has is very rare and unlike it seems most people on here she has been offered target therapy instead of chemo or radiotherapy. Does anyone have any insight into what we should be expecting from target therapy? I am still left wondering why target therapy when everyone else with a similar condition is having chemo.

Any thoughts anyone?

  • Hi Gems44,

    I am a 70 year old man and have been diagnosed with a GIST which has spread to my liver. Mine too is a rare cancer type and I am “lucky” that although inoperable it is treatable with a targeted therapy. I have been on Imatinib since November 2022 and it is a tablet I take every day. Results after 16 weeks of treatment have shown the main tumour decrease in size fro 10cm to 7cm and reduced activity in the metastatic growths. Side effects are not too bad, puffy eyes, tiredness and itchy rash. Obviously different people will have different side effects but overall it is easy to manage. The results are encouraging too and I sincerely hope your Mum too responds well. If I can answer any more questions on my experience of a targeted therapy then please ask.

    Take care