Hi again guys,
Had my laparoscopy yesterday and the results were an all clear - no sign of any spread of my stomach cancer on the outside of my stomach or surrounding lymph nodes or organs. I still need an MRI next week for my liver before my final prognosis and treatment plan.
However, the docs were very up front in telling me I am definitely going to have a total rather than partial gastrectomy due to the difficult position of my cancer and the obvious need to be quite aggressive in what they remove. I was really hoping it would only be partial so it was a little bit of a kicker.
I’d be interested in hearing people’s experiences in how they coped with this, how their lives have changed, issues etc? I’ve already been told to exercise less and to “chub up” a bit!
Thanks in advance :-)
Hi Andy
great to hear there has been no spread that’s a really positive place to be.
I was the same, Initially told a partial but then just before surgery I was told it would likely be a total. My surgeon said although the recovery may be a little more difficult once recovered I wouldn’t be worse off with a total.
That was in January, I was in hospital for 7 days and I recovered well, once home I was eating pureed food, porridge, spag Bol, just soft stuff and fortified with milk powder for extra calories and protein. I must say I hated those few weeks and had to force myself to eat, everything seemed to go straight through me and I felt a bit down. I was told it was all normal and would pass and it did. I was given creon digestive enzymes to help absorb nutrients and fats and they really helped stabilise my weight, I moved on to eggs, making omelettes and no pastry quiche, mash potatoes with gravy, cottage pie all food that didn’t need chewing and it started to get much better, I’ve just gone from there. I try and eat little and often some days I graze constantly, never drink 1/2 hour either side of a meal but can enjoy a cuppa and a biscuit or two no problem. I’ve had to cut out lactose which is common, if I eat too much or too fast I know about it within 20 minutes, the food just won’t settle and I bring some up but it’s not traumatic or painful. I sleep with my upper body raised a little to stop any reflux and my strength is returning.
I’m on my second holiday since my op, I’m just watching what I eat but feel a bit sad not to indulge with my family but I’m here and that’s wonderful. I can drink a couple of gins of cocktails and get a bit tiddly quite quickly but that’s normal and cheap!
some days I can’t quite believe what my body has been through, I feel ok, life is fairly normal, some days I get tired or dumping syndrome but it’s all very manageable, I’ve even just started Pilates and am focused on rebuilding muscle.
Dont be daunted by the surgery, you will get through it and life will be great once again 
Hi Andy
I had my surgery on 19 December and was allowed home late evening on Christmas Eve so I absolutely understand the concerns over Xmas festivities. I wasn’t particularly worried for myself, more about how the family would cope with the day when I couldn’t participate. Turns out we had a lovely if fairly quiet day together at my daughters house. Rather than the full meal, my daughter decided to do a buffet - it was very short notice anyway as I had expected to still be in hospital - and she made lots of soft foods which I could graze on whilst the rest of the family ate normally. It was the company that was important and we managed to laugh and joke our way through the day.
I started eating normal foods fairly quickly post op (I was fed up with the soft diet after a few days!) and I now enjoy full roast dinners just much smaller portions so hopefully you will be able to enjoy those as well. I ensure I eat the proteins first and leave the vegetables til last in case I can’t manage everything on my plate. Over time the portion sizes have got slightly bigger and as my taste buds start to improve - and this took a few months - I enjoy my food more.
I struggle with most dairy products but fortunately tolerate cheese very well. I add it to loads of foods to help with the calories. It is trial end error and learning how much I could eat at each sitting took a while. I am still very underweight but feel fine in myself and try to snack on nuts throughout the day to try to add some weight. I was borderline underweight before diagnosis though so no-one was surprised that my weight would continue to be an issue. I take Creon capsules as these amongst other benefits help slow the movement of food through my digestive system to try to increase the vitamins and calories my body absorbs. They are beginning to work as I have managed to put on 1lb...this is good news for me as I was losing weight each time previously!
My new “normal” was easier to adapt to than I feared although I need to be fairly disciplined in ensuring I carry snacks with me when I am going out. I don’t tolerate cakes, biscuits etc very well so tend to carry nuts or quavers/crisps to snack on. I used to have a very sweet tooth but find myself preferring savoury options now.
Let us know how the diagnosis and treatment plan goes. There will be someone on this forum who will have had the same experience and no doubt will offer support and advice.
Sending positive vibes
Karen 
