Hi, Mum Diagnosed with Stomach Cancer

Hello Pip

My best wishes to you and your Mum, and I wish her well.

I'd been having stomach pains for months and finally threw up blood on 1feb22, &.was diagnosed with T3 stomach cancer. I had a 3cm ulcer, 

I'm on the FLOT chemotherapy programme for the stomach cancer. The prognosis is reasonable. Stomach cancer can easily be treated but I don't know the stage of cancer that your mum has. She'll be in very good hands, I'm sure.

Try yourself to read up,as much as possible. Go online,  ask for documents,  leaflets from the hospital,  it'll help you. Keep,up your spirits and look after yourself in terms of exercise, proper food, going out. I'd advise, "stay normal" with your mum, the way you talk, relate to her, dont get too serious... difficult but hope you know what I mean. 

Best wishes Joe x

Hi Joe,

Many thanks for taking the time to read my post and replying, just the simplest of things can pick you up and you have managed to do that for me.

I'm sorry to hear of your diagnosis and hope that your FLOT Chemo goes well.

I'm trying to read up as much as I can, and will do my upmost to try and stay normal for mum, as I know she does not want to see us all mope about her.  She is very positive at the moment and wants to fight as best as she can.  She is also opting to not have a prognosis, she doesn't want to count down any days but enjoy them and focus on treatment and recovery if offered to her.  

Take care and thank you again x

Hi

Sorry to hear about your mum’s diagnosis, it will be a scary time for you all.  This is the hardest time as the medical team will be doing tests and then the MDT ( Multi Disciplinary Team) will meet to decide the treatment plan. 
I remember the shock I felt and my family too , when I was diagnosed!   You will have lots of questions and it helps to write them down so that when you speak to the doctor you can ask!  Though often they don’t have all the answers at first.

If it helps I coped by keeping busy and focus on what you can do to help your mum. My daughters helped me so much - making food, going for walks and just being there! I used the Headspace app to cope with the anxiety I felt - it uses mindfulness techniques.

There is support available from Macmillan and I found the Oesophageal Patients Association really helpful with information 

https://opa.org.uk

Don’t Google as a lot of information is out of date and remember everyone is an individual so statistics are just that!  I remember reading about the aggressive cancer I had and spending sleepless nights worrying!  

Do use this Forum for support, there are lovely people who really understand and can help!  

Take care !

Hi Jac,

Thank you so much for your response, again, just the simplest of response's pick you up, thank you.

My mum is being offered Chemo and will start in 3 weeks, they are also hoping to offer Immunotherapy at the same time. She has cancer in her stomach and some surrounding Lymph Nodes, no other Organs are affected at the moment, but will continue to monitor her.   

I feel a little more at ease now knowing what's what and knowing she will be offered treatment.  They cant cure it but can try and control it.  

I have also been offered Counselling at my work, and have been using this online forum lots too, reading other stories, which has helped lots, I thank everyone for sharing and responding, and take comfort in knowing that what I'm feeling is normal and I'm not alone.

Take care and stay well.

x 

Hi

That’s good news that the cancer is treatable.  It seems strange but this will be a special time for you- I remember how much my daughters helped me when I was going through treatment.

Focus on things you can control and don’t look too far ahead.  Counselling will help you I am sure.

Take care and good luck!

Hi Pip,                                                                                                                                                                                                                               I was diagnosed with stomach cancer in January and have begun my chemotherapy. Please don't beat yourself up too much about whether you are doing enough or not, I also have a wonderful family and friends and have all been there for me which has given me such posiitivity I just cannot express my gratitude so just keep it as "normal" as possible. Never question whether you're doing enough or not, just being there for your Mum is enough.                                                                                                                                                                             From a position similar to your Mum, just stay positive, I know, as i'm sore your Mum knows , that I have my family around me and makes me feel even more determined to fight this. There will be wobbles, there will be tears but don't forget family is there for you too and  they understand the shock of the news and the impact upon yourself and your Mum.                                                                                                 Stay positive, keep things "normal" and be yourself, a loving daughter,                                                                                                               Hope this has been of some help to you and good luck .                                                                                                                                     Andy

Hi Pip7,

May I ask how things are going since the diagnosis of your Mum? I am so sorry to hear you are going through this and had to go through the horrendous period of waiting and not knowing before the treatment plan is agreed and goes ahead.

I am in a very similar position to you, my Mum (50) has been diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer and she'll be starting chemo. It is such a shock, isn't it, it feels unreal and so sad at times. I hope it helps to share experiences on this site so that everyone feels less lonely and not like they are the only ones going through this.

I hope knowing the treatment plan has helped you and you are able to take care of yourself as well as be there for your Mum.

My best wishes to you x

Hi EnjoysBagels,

Mum is doing well, thank you for asking.  She has had 4 rounds of Chemo so far, 3rd round was delayed a month due to her being very deficient in Vitamin B12 which was knocking her blood count off, she was given a B12 shot and her bloods picked up again, which meant the Chemo could resume.  She's had her last two rounds with no issues (touch wood).    She has also has a further Scan to see what Chemo was doing and to ensure no further spread, and the results come back very positive, Scan showed that cancer was thinning and there was no spread to any other organs.  She will receive another Scan after her 6th and last round in September / October, so keeping everything crossed, its still doing its job.  Mum is doing very well and not had very many side effects from Chemo, slightly tired and nauseous  the first week after IV Chemo, but seems to pick up halfway though her second week.  She has has some slight thinning of her hair, but nothing really noticeable.   She's very positive and is actually coping better than any of us, new Grandbaby on the way too, and a little Caravan Holiday booked in October with her current Grandchildren, so she has a lot to focus on.

So sorry to hear you are going through this as well with your mum, the fear of the unknown was horrendous for me, but once we had a plan in place from Oncology, things seems to calm down a bit for me anxiety wise, as the path was now clear and I could see where things were going.  Oncology have been fantastic in my mums case, as well as the Maggie's Centre, the support I have been given as well and my mum and family has been amazing.  I'm also fortunate as well to have an amazing Employer, who has supported my needs and also referred me for personal counselling, which I actually start next week.

Sharing my story online and talking to others has also helped me massively as it does feel very lonely and scary at times.  I still have my moments, but try to remember to take it one day at a time and also I remind myself that Cancer is not always an immediate death sentence, people can live with this disease and treatments are available.  

Take care of yourself and I hope Chemo goes well for your mum, if you ever need a chat, please reach out :o)

Pip7 x

That is great news to hear that the results have been very positive and your Mum is doing well. I hope you all have a lovely time on holiday, a well deserved break!

I have heard of Maggie's Centre and been thinking about popping in if it begins to feel too overwhelming so am glad to hear positive things about them. I am also trying not to dwell so much on prognosis and statistics but rather be glad that there is a treatment process. Hopefully my Mum will start chemo next Friday, still feels like a frustratingly long way as she's quite poorly at the minute, but hoping things get better from there. I will update with how things go.

Thank you, will do and take care too! x