How many live with stage 4 stomach cancer? Let's take a closer look at this issue. Any malignant tumor goes through four stages of its development. The last stage is characterized by a high intensity of general and specific symptoms of the disease. Quite often, until the fourth stage, the disease develops without any manifestations in the form of symptoms. This causes late diagnosis and detection of pathology, which greatly complicates further treatment and surgical intervention.
Difficulty of forecasting
For stage 4 stomach cancer, or carcinoma, it is quite difficult to predict the symptoms that appear. Statistics show that every twentieth patient with stage 4 cancer lives more than five years after surgery.
Tumor development at the fourth stage is characterized by a high risk of metastasized cells entering other organs and systems, often remote from the localization of the cancer itself. Thus, uncontrolled growth of a malignant neoplasm occurs. In rare cases, a complete recovery after the operation is recorded. Even drastic treatments such as radiation and chemotherapy do not help most patients.
Description of the disease
Stomach cancer of the 4th degree is characterized by the appearance of characteristic symptoms and signs of the disease that have not been detected before, or have arisen at this stage. The symptoms are of a high degree of intensity.
Gastric carcinoma is accompanied by rapid satiety from food, even with a minimal amount of food eaten. Lymph nodes sharply increase in size, and there is pain during their palpation. There are also disorders of the digestive system, heartburn, vomiting, impaired defecation, intestinal obstruction, etc. Metastases at this stage can be detected not only in nearby organs, such as the intestines, liver, lungs, but also in distant systems, for example, in brain or bone structures.
Symptoms
Symptoms of stage 4 stomach cancer with metastases look different and depend on the type of tumor and the degree of damage to the body. Infiltrative-ulcerative form of cancer has the most unfavorable prognosis. With this form, the disease develops rapidly and causes severe pain to the patient. Lethal outcome occurs after 2-3 months. An obstruction occurs in the stomach, which causes vomiting when trying to eat. There is a sharp loss of body weight, up todystrophy. Anemia occurs, manifested by pallor of the skin and lethargy.
Unfortunately, now many are diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. How many live, find out below.
One of the specific signs of the last stage of the tumor is a change in the color of vomit and stool. The presence of black impurities in the patient's stool and vomit indicates the presence of cancer. This is due to blood clots that enter the stool. It is quite difficult to make a prognosis for such patients. It depends on the timeliness of the measures taken for treatment. The earlier treatment was started, the greater the prognosis of the patient's life.
Intestinal obstruction may indicate such a dangerous phenomenon as the localization of a neoplasm in the pyloric region of the stomach, in the region of the pylorus.
As mentioned above, grade 4 gastric cancer metastases can enter different systems and organs. With metastasis of the digestive glands of the pancreas and liver, the volume of the patient's abdomen increases significantly. Another sign of the presence of metastasized cells in the liver is icteric syndrome. These symptoms indicate the fusion of the neoplasm with the anterior abdominal cavity.
Cancer cells have a special metabolism and secrete waste products. This leads to intoxication of the body, as it perceives these cells as foreign.
Treatment
Most often, patients go to the doctor already in the later stages of cancer, when palliative methods become necessary, that is, aimed atrelief of symptoms, but not a complete cure. Gastric localization gives more chances for the complete elimination of the tumor, in contrast to the lungs, pancreas and liver. A big problem is metastases, which are almost impossible to get rid of with modern methods.
Surgery is not always performed for stomach cancer. For the most part, such surgical manipulations are carried out in order to improve the quality of life of patients. Specialists restore the digestive tract by creating anastomoses between the intestines and the stomach. This improves the passage of food when it comes to cancer of the pylorus or pylorus. Anastomoses are metal tubes that pass through the pylorus. The tumor is not eliminated in this way, and the prognosis of the patient's life may be disappointing. However, such measures allow the patient to live and eat well.
Laser ablation
In addition to anastomoses, laser ablation is also used in oncological surgery. The essence of the method is to burn the tumor with a laser. If the metastasized cells have greatly weakened the body's immune system, gastric resection is contraindicated. However, even if it is carried out, this is only a measure to prolong the patient's life and improve its quality.
If the patient cannot feed himself due to the development of intestinal obstruction, he is artificially fed. To do this, a hole is made in the abdominal wall and a probe is inserted for the artificial introduction of nutrients.mixes.
Patients in the last stage of carcinoma are very weak, so intravenous anesthesia is not performed. Local anesthesia is applied.
Chemotherapy and palliative care
In case of stomach cancer of the 4th degree, chemotherapeutic methods can stop the development of a malignant neoplasm. The most commonly used is 5-fluorouracil. This substance allows you to stop the growth of a cancerous tumor in every second case. The disadvantage of this method is a large number of side effects and complications. The use of this technique can significantly worsen the general condition of the patient. Foreign drugs currently have the same spectrum of action, but have less effect on the patient's he althy cells.
Most often, chemotherapy is used for local spread of carcinoma. If there are no signs of exhaustion among the symptoms of stomach cancer of the 4th degree, chemotherapy is used in combination with radiological radiation, which can significantly reduce the protective functions of the body.
Using analgesics
One of the main methods of palliative care is the use of analgesics. Preparations are used according to the level of intensity of exposure. If it is necessary to remove the existing inflammatory process, therapy with drugs from a number of antibiotics is prescribed. For the elimination of purulent processes in cancer, a 10% solution of hydrochloric acid with potassium permanganate is responsible.
Hormonal drugs and immunomodulators
Also, hormonal drugs and immunomodulators are used in therapy, which allows prolonging the life of a patient with stage 4 stomach cancer. Strengthening the immune system to treat cancer is an innovative technique, but it is not used in all clinics. Most often, this practice can be found in clinics in Israel and Germany. If there is a genetic predisposition to cancer, it is necessary to undergo an annual examination for early diagnosis. You can check for a possible predisposition by donating blood for special tumor markers that show the probable possibility of getting cancer.
So, how long do people live with stage 4 stomach cancer?
Forecast
It seems quite difficult to take into account all the factors and aggravating circumstances of the patient in order to make at least an approximate prognosis of the life of a patient with stage 4 stomach cancer. Older people will have a lower life expectancy than younger people. This is due to better he alth and a greater reserve of a young organism. In addition, a young body is better able to resist cancer cells. If the patient has a history of other chronic diseases, this also reduces the life expectancy.
Also, the form of the disease plays an important role in the life expectancy of a patient with stomach cancer in the fourth stage, the most dangerous of which is considered infiltrative.
Another factor in life expectancy in cancer is the spread of metastasized cells to distant organs and systems. Very important iscorrect interpretation of test results and correct treatment regimen.
If all factors are favorable, including taking into account the mental, emotional and social state of the patient, his life expectancy will be more than 5 years in every fifth case. When treated abroad, the patient's life can be extended by another 15 percent.
The life expectancy of a patient with fourth-degree stomach cancer largely depends on the psycho-emotional mood. And although it is almost impossible to completely cure this disease, it is possible to create favorable conditions for the longest life. Cancer is a serious disease that threatens a person's life, so you should pay due attention to your he alth and undergo routine examinations.
We looked at how long people live with stage 4 stomach cancer.
