Not good news...

[Tescogran]

15 months post op my husband has started to experience bad acid reflux. An endoscopy has shown he has stomach lesions and the biopsies show it is the same cancer which is classed as "recurrence". A CT scan shows no further spread to other organs. The specialist only offers more chemo to shrink the tumour. Hard decisions ahead and I'm trying to find out if the vile chemo effects will be worth it . Sounds strange but he has a reasonable quality of life at the moment. He is much weaker than the first 2 lots of pre-op chemo and I don't know if he will even consider more treatment. The great shock was compounded by the surgeon admitting that problems usually can occur at the 15-18 month stage .Any observations welcome!

[Hidden]

It is true that some recurrences do occur and I am sorry to hear this news. Some people do have second lots of chemo and surgery successfully but, like the first time, it will depend on the analysis of how the cancer has progressed. This time however, they would also be thinking about the effect of further surgery after the first operation. Also how fit your husband is.

It is quite possible to have a good quality of life with a total gastrectomy but whether it is possible to do this now after your husband's first surgery is a question that only a surgeon can answer.

In some ways you might think that the aim should be to enjoy the best quality of life for as long as possible. It does take time to come to terms with the new situation, and that is something that only you and your husband can do after a lot of talking and thinking.

If after further discussion it turns out the the surgeon says that there is a good prospect for successful further treatment but that it is not possible only for technical surgical reasons, you might ask whether you should seek a second opinion from a surgeon who has a lot of experience with revision surgery.