Stomach Cancer Stage 4 - Treatment advice (Asif Chaudry)

Hi, I would definitely ask for a second opinion, wishing you and your dad the very best of luck xx

My dad has just had the same diagnosis but it's all his stomach.They told him surgery would be an option  and referred him to another hosp who said no it had spread so chemo would be the next option. Referred back to original hosp who said radiotherapy and palliative care

 It has been 2 months since diagnosed and he's fading away infront of us. Devastating. Do anything and everything you can to get your dad the best treatment. Thoughts are with you. Good luck

Hi , I’ve also diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer back in December, now on third chemo cycle, I have bad days and good but I have now stopped worrying about what will happen in future, got to live day today, this awful disease affects family and friends much more than me , I hope he gets the help and treatment he needs, sending support to you and family , stay strong 

Hi. Ironically I also met with Asif Chaudry for a second opinion after being diagnosed last year. Firstly, I will say Dr. Chaudry’s opinion was the same as the 1st  (I have stage 4 stomach cancer - Linitis Plastica) The opinion being palliative chemo as the cancer has spread to my peritoneum. 

I chose to proceed with Dr. Chaudry and care under the team at the Royal Marsden regardless. The care is exceptional. If you have the opportunity to meet with him and understand his approach I would highly recommend. 

Hi Eden,

It's such a shock when a family is hit by this diagnosis, for sure and I'm sorry this has happened to yours. 

Most of the time with stage IV, it is sadly inoperable. It really depends on where the spread is and how much there is. 

Lung mets can be tricky but it may be worth asking a) how many spots there are in the lung, and b) are they in a location which can technically be removed? The few surgeons in the country who are capable and willing to operate on stage IV cases will normally want to see that the spread is something they call 'oligometastatic' which means limited spread. That's normally 1-3 spots which can be technically removed. Then they'll want to see a good response to the chemo he will be having anyway, because with stomach cancer, they do chemo first before operating, nearly all the time.

My dad was stage IV and told he was inoperable but he was able to have surgery (not with Dr Chaudry) and he's fine now. But his spread was very different.

I hope your dad's liver scan goes well and that he does well on chemo.

SDH x

Hi SDH - thank you so much for your reply and kind words. So sorry to hear that about your dad. 

Could I ask what changed or how he went from

being inoperable to operable? Was it that he responded well to chemo? That’s brilliant news and so happy for you and him. Has the cancer has gone and he’s back to his normal self?

Thank you 

Really sorry to hear this Rogue - that’s so devastating. Thoughts with you and your family and your father. Hope he seems some improvement with his treatment. 

Hi Jon1961 - thanks for your reply. Really sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Lots of success stories out there so keeping your fingers crossed. Sending good thoughts your way and it sounds like you’re being incredibly brave. All the good vibes and hopefully the spring sunshine is making those hard days a little easier. 

Hi Eden, In dad's case, he only had lymph node spread and he was lucky to have a complete response to the chemo, which changed what was possible. The response to chemo is very important in what they decide to do, but still had to advocate hard to get him there x

I had good news this week, my tumour is shrinking and oncologists seem to think they can get it dormant , also starting to gain weight again so I’m feeling a lot more confident than I’ve been in months