Treatment of stomach cancer - the main methods and their cost
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Treatment of stomach cancer is always possible, even regardless of its stage and localization.
The main goal of gastric cancer therapy is to cure this ailment or reduce its symptoms, such as difficulty eating, severe pain or bleeding, and preventing further progression of the disease and improving quality of life. Treatment of stomach cancer is performed by an oncologist with the most effective and modern methods of therapy.
Who to contact?
Effective treatment of stomach cancer
Effective treatment of stomach cancer begins with a complete examination, which consists of carrying out gastroscopy, biopsy, ultrasound, tomography, laparoscopy and fluoroscopy. Based on the results obtained during the diagnosis, doctors are determined with the tactics of treatment. It is from accurate and timely diagnosis, properly selected therapy, and the effectiveness of treatment will depend. Sometimes it is possible to do without surgical intervention and undergo treatment with the use of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The main thing in achieving a positive result is optimism and a good mood, many cope with this terrible disease and lead a full life.
[1]
Methods of treatment of stomach cancer
Methods for treating gastric cancer include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Very often, several methods of therapy are used to achieve a more effective result. As a rule, surgical treatment is the main method, and radiation and chemotherapy are auxiliary.
The methods and duration of therapy for stomach cancer are determined by the physician on an individual basis. There are several reasons for choosing the methods of treatment:
- tumor localization,
- stage of cancer,
- general state,
- age of the patient.
The results of therapy will depend on its timely detection and the definition of the stage of the cancer process.
Preparations for the treatment of stomach cancer
Drugs used to treat stomach cancer are used as chemotherapy:
- have a destructive effect on tumor cells,
- slow down the reproduction of cancer cells,
- prevent the progression of the disease,
- reduce the incidence of metastases, thereby preventing recurrence of stomach cancer.
But these drugs slow down the growth of not only cancer cells, but also healthy ones. The result is the occurrence of side effects, such as hair loss, nausea, vomiting, weakness, etc. After completion of the administration of chemotherapeutic agents, the functioning of healthy cells is restored, and side reactions disappear.
Drugs used to treat stomach cancer can be given in the form of tablets, injections into the vein and intraperitoneally after surgery. The mode and duration of the use of drugs depends on the characteristics of each drug. Combinations of chemotherapeutic drugs are often used, as the effectiveness of monotherapy is from 5 to 25%, and the combination therapy - from 40 to 50%. Remissions after the use of chemotherapy alone are usually not long-lasting from three to four months.
Preparations for the treatment of stomach cancer can be prescribed:
- before surgical intervention to reduce the size of the tumor and, then it is possible, surgical treatment will be easier,
- after a radical operation, with the aim of affecting the micrometastases that remained after the operative removal of the primary tumor and macrometastases (primarily in the lymph nodes).
List of drugs that are used in therapy:
- Antimetabolites:
- Ftorafur,
- 5-fluorouracil,
- Methotrexate,
- Antibiotics:
- Epirubicin,
- Mitomycin C,
- Platinum derivatives:
- Cisplatin,
- Carboplatin.
- Taxanes:
- Docetaxel,
- Taxotere
- Topoisomerase inhibitors:
- Topotecan,
- Campto (Irinotecan).
- Podophyllotoxin derivatives:
- Etoposide,
- Teniposide.
- Nitrosoureas derivatives:
- Carmustine,
- Lomustine.
The success of the use of chemotherapeutic agents lies in their combined use. In the treatment of gastric cancer, the following combinations of chemotherapeutic drugs can be used:
- 5-fluorouracil (600 mg / m 2 - 1,8,29 and 36 day) + doxorubicin (30 mg / m 2 - intravenously on days 1 and 29) + Metamycin C (10 mg / m 2 in the first day) . The course of therapy is repeated every eight weeks.
- Methotrexate (1500 mg / m 2 infusion over half an hour on day 1) + 5-fluorouracil (1500 mg / m 2 infusion over half an hour on day 1 after methotrexate) + Leucovorin (30 mg intravenously orally one day after the administration of methotrexate every six hours, eight doses) + doxorubicin (30 mg / m 2 intravenously on day 15). The course of re-treatment is carried out on day 22.
- Etoposide (120 mg / m 2 intravenously on days 4,5 and 6) + doxorubicin (20 mg / m 2 intravenously on the first and seventh days) + cisplastin (40 mg / m 2 intravenously on the second and eighth day). The course of re-therapy is on day 29.
There are still many schemes of combined therapy for stomach cancer with chemotherapeutic drugs. The combination of drugs and their dosages is selected by the doctor individually for each patient.
Treatment of stomach cancer in Israel
Treatment for stomach cancer in Israel is at a high level. The clinics of Israel use the latest methods and the most modern equipment, which allows you to treat stomach cancer regardless of the stage of the disease.
Leading clinics in Israel, where gastric cancer is treated:
- Tel-Aviv Medical Center named after Suraski (formerly Ihilov Hospital).
- International Center for Cancer Treatment "STS".
- Assuta Hospital, Tel Aviv.
- Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva.
- The Wolfson Clinic,
- Hospital "Shiba", Ramat Gan.
- The Adassa Clinic.
- Medical Center "Asaf Harofe".
Variations of methods of therapy for stomach cancer in Israeli clinics depending on the stage of the process.
- Stomach cancer of the first stage - possible treatment options:
- Surgical intervention - total gastrectomy or subtotal resection.
- Surgical intervention - gastrectomy or subtotal resection + radiotherapy.
- Surgical intervention - total gastrectomy or subtotal resection + chemotherapy.
- Surgical intervention - total gastrectomy or subtotal resection + chemotherapy + radiotherapy.
- Stomach cancer of the second and third stages:
- Surgical intervention - gastrectomy or subtotal resection.
- Surgical intervention - total gastrectomy or subtotal resection + radiotherapy.
- Surgical intervention - total gastrectomy or subtotal resection + chemotherapy.
- Surgical intervention - gastrectomy or subtotal resection + chemotherapy + radiotherapy.
- With inoperable cancer - radiation therapy + chemotherapy.
- Stomach cancer of the fourth stage and cancer recurrence:
- Chemotherapy as a palliative treatment.
- Chemotherapy + immunotherapy.
- Radiation therapy as a palliative treatment.
- Operative intervention as palliative therapy.
Endoluminal laser therapy or stenting in a situation of tumor blocking the entrance or exit of the stomach.
The price range of therapy for stomach cancer in Israel's medical centers ranges from 35,000 to 60,000 dollars.
The cost of therapy includes a mandatory examination:
- Conducting analyzes of general laboratory indicators, including the definition of oncomarkers - 700 - 850 dollars.
- Revision of the indicators of the previous biopsy (be sure to bring a glass and a block) - 500 - 680 dollars.
- Conducting positron emission tomography of the body in order to detect metastases is about $ 2,000.
- Histochemical and histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen is about 790 dollars.
- Gastroscopy with a repeat biopsy - 1 550 - 1 650 dollars.
- If necessary, an additional histopathological examination is performed-the establishment of receptors for herceptin-about $ 350.
- Consultation of the abdominal surgeon-oncologist after the results of the survey - about 550 dollars.
- Advising a gastro-oncologist - 600 dollars.
Prices, depending on the methods of therapy for stomach cancer:
- Preoperative laparoscopic examination (combined with abdominal ultrasound) - about 6,000 dollars.
- Open or partial or complete laparoscopic gastrectomy (the price includes six days of hospitalization) - 20 000 - 35 000 dollars or more (a full gastrectomy can cost 40 000 - 50 000 dollars).
- Express research of the biopsy specimen of stomach tissues and lymph nodes obtained during the operation (to determine the boundaries of the tumor, completely eliminate it and keep a healthy part of the stomach) - about $ 2,500.
- Operating materials (scalpel, biological glue, etc.) - up to 6 400 dollars.
- The final histopathological and histochemical study of the extracted tumor is up to $ 1,500.
- Additional advice to a gastro-oncologist (after discharge, to determine further treatment) is $ 300.
- Consultation of a nutritionist (after discharge) - 460 dollars.
The survey in Israeli medical centers takes place, on average, within four working days. After that, the methods and scheme of therapy for stomach cancer are selected, which depends on the prevalence of the tumor process.
- If the tumor process did not expand beyond the stomach or gave metastasis only to the lymph nodes of the stomach, then a gastrectomy should be performed. After surgery, the patient should arrive in Israel for two weeks for observation.
- If metastases are determined in other organs, then chemotherapy is prescribed. Preparations begin to select from the establishment of receptors for herceptin. After three to six chemotherapeutic courses - a seven-day or three-week cycle, repeated positron emission tomography of metastases and consultation of the abdominal surgeon are conducted to determine the possible amount of surgical intervention. With the selected chemotherapy, the cost of the basic drug is on average $ 1,325.
The cost of radiotherapy in Israel's medical centers starts at $ 12,000, which depends on the number of irradiation fields and simulations.
When carrying out therapy for stomach cancer in Israel, it is necessary to take into account the additional costs of flight, accommodation, meals, as well as possible additional methods of examination. Also, if necessary, an additional day in the clinic will be an average of 950 dollars.
Treatment of stomach cancer in Germany
The treatment of stomach cancer in Germany is also one of the most effective not only in Europe, but all over the world. Clinics in Germany are conducting and developing new methods and tools for diagnosis, radiation, drug and combination therapy for cancer. Leading clinics in Germany, where gastric cancer is administered:
- Gastroenterological clinic "Josephine", Munich.
- Medical Center "Isar", Munich.
- University Clinic, Regensburg and Freiburg
- Clinic of General, Abdominal Surgery and Tumor Surgery, Munich.
- Cancer Center of the University Clinic, Munich.
- Private clinic for the treatment of oncology and chronic diseases, Berlin.
- Clinic of radiation therapy Vivantes, Berlin.
- Oncology Center of the University Clinic, Ulm.
Methods for the treatment of gastric cancer in Germany include:
- Operative intervention,
- Chemotherapy,
- Radiation therapy,
- Combined treatment,
- Immunotherapy,
- Treatment with stem cells and enzymatic agents.
The cost of complex therapy for stomach cancer in medical centers in Germany ranges from 25,000 to 41,000 euros, including complete diagnostics:
- Operative intervention and rehabilitation (ten days) - 9 000 - 18 000 euros.
- Partial resection of the stomach (eight days) - 2 000 - 3 500 euros.
- Total or expanded gastrectomy with removal of lymph nodes and spleen (ten days) - 3 000 - 4 500 euros.
- One course of chemotherapy (5 days) - from 1,000 to 6,000 euros.
- One course of radiation therapy (fourteen to twenty days) - from 8,000 to 17,000 euros.
- Complete diagnostics - from 2,500 to 9,500 euros.
Complex examination takes from two to three working days, and the entire period of complex therapy - an average of twenty days.
Surgical treatment of stomach cancer
Surgical treatment of stomach cancer is the main method of therapy for this pathology. Its main task is to remove all tissues of the tumor. The volume of surgical intervention for stomach cancer is determined by:
- spread of the tumor process in the stomach,
- stage of regional lymph node involvement,
- presence of distant metastases.
Types of surgery for stomach cancer:
- Proximal subtotal gastrectomy is performed if the tumor is localized in the region of the entrance to the stomach. Sometimes this operation eliminates three quarters of the stomach, fatty tissue, located around it with lymph nodes.
- Distal subtotal resection of the stomach - is performed if the tumor is localized in the region of the outlet (lower) part of the stomach. This operation also cuts out three quarters of the stomach, fatty tissue located around it with lymph nodes.
- Gastrectomy - the stomach is completely removed from the adjacent areas of the duodenum and esophagus. This type of surgery is performed if the body of the stomach is injured or infiltrative growth of the tumor is noted, when it completely extends all the walls of the stomach (in all its parts).
Elimination of lymph nodes in stomach cancer reduces the risk of retention of metastases, since the path of their spread is lymphatic.
There are some conditions in stomach cancer, in which surgical intervention is contraindicated because of its inefficiency and high risk of complications. Thus, contra-indications for surgical intervention in stomach cancer are:
- Remote metastases in the lungs, liver, supraclavicular lymph nodes (metastasis of Virchow).
- Distribution of metastases to the bladder (Schnitzler's metastasis), rectum and ovary (Crookenberg metastasis).
- Significant fatigue and poisoning by substances of the decay of the tumor and its growth, the so-called cancer cachexia.
- Pronounced ascites is the accumulation of a large amount of fluid in the abdominal cavity.
- The presence of severe concomitant diseases.
Symptomatic treatment of stomach cancer
Symptomatic treatment of stomach cancer is an intensive help to a cancer patient at that stage of the disease, when the therapy of the tumor process is ineffective. In such cases, symptomatic treatment is aimed at eliminating pain and other physical manifestations, and the provision of psychological, spiritual and social assistance becomes paramount.
The goal of symptomatic therapy is to provide the most satisfactory living conditions with a minimum favorable prognosis. But nevertheless, the need for symptomatic treatment arises in all cancer patients. Even in the case of the first stage of stomach cancer, severe depression is possible, requiring medication.
Symptomatic therapy can be conditionally divided into specific and non-specific.
Nonspecific therapy:
- Operative intervention, which is not aimed at removing the tumor and metastases, but with the aim of improving the patient's life. For example, if there is a constriction in the ventricular outlet (pyloric stenosis), an anastomosis is made between the small intestine and the stomach to allow better food. If the initial (cardiac) stomach is narrowed:
- bougie, that is. Expand this section of the stomach mechanically with the use of special thick probes;
- gastrostomy - an opening is made in the anterior abdominal wall, connecting the stomach with the environment. Through this opening, food is introduced.
- Medication (painkillers, antiemetic, anti-inflammatory, etc.).
Specific therapy:
- Carrying out a sanitizing operation is a non-radical elimination of the tumor.
- Radiation therapy (as an anesthetic).
- Therapy with cytostatics (with metastasis in the brain).
Clinical symptoms and syndromes that require symptomatic treatment.
- Pain syndrome:
- Weak character. With such pains, non-opioid analgesics are used - ibuprofen, diclobber, paracetamol, etc.
- The medium nature requires the appointment of soft opioid analgesics - codeine, tramadol, etc.
- Very severe pain requires the use of strong opioid analgesics - fentanyl, morphine, buprenorphine, etc.
- Cachexia, resulting from a malnutrition, due to violations of food through the digestive canal and the absorption of nutrients.
- Anti-inflammatory therapy, means to reduce spasms, etc. Are used.
- And, if necessary, superimposed gastrostomy, gastrointestinal anastomoses to facilitate the passage of food.
- In violation of absorption of nutrients are prescribed - gastric juice, enzymatic and cholagogue.
- Disintoxication therapy is often prescribed.
- If food is not possible, parenteral nutrition - water, glucose, protein and fat emulsions - is prescribed.
- Common restorative agents are used - vitamins (C, group B, PP, A, E), cocarboxylase.
- Anorexia - a decrease or lack of appetite due to cancer intoxication, often accompanies a stomach cancer. Therapy of anorexia is aimed at stimulating the appetite:
- infusions of herbs of gold-thousandth, wormwood, oregano, trefoil;
- spices - cumin, mint, cinnamon, ginger;
- beer and wine;
- natural gastric juice;
- drinks - kvass, dairy products.
- If the cause of a decreased appetite is high fever, then antipyretic drugs - amidopyrine, rheopyrin - are needed.
- Renal or hepatic insufficiency, which often accompanies terminal stages of cancer, requires detoxification therapy.
- Treatment of nausea and vomiting - antiemetics and prevention of dehydration.
- Carrying out a correction of the psycho-emotional state of a cancer patient - work with a psychologist, the appointment of antidepressants (amitriptyline).
Symptomatic treatment has an indirect effect on the tumor process and is aimed at eliminating the severe symptoms of cancer.
Palliative treatment of stomach cancer
Palliative treatment of stomach cancer is a therapy whose goal is not to cure the patient, but to provide him with the best possible conditions for life by eliminating the symptoms that bring suffering. The essence of palliative therapy consists in partial elimination of the tumor, with the purpose of delaying its growth, reducing its mass and preventing complications. After partial elimination of the tumor, conditions for exposure to it by other methods, for example, chemotherapy or radiotherapy, arise. Palliative surgery is performed with tumor inoperability due to the presence of multiple metastases or it is impossible to technically remove the affected area. Palliative treatment is forced - due to life indications (eg, bleeding).
Alternative treatment of stomach cancer
Alternative treatment of gastric cancer should not be done on their own, because it is unjustified. Alternative medicine can be used to increase the defenses of the body and eliminate possible side effects - pain, nausea, vomiting and only under the supervision of the treating doctor. Since self-medication can worsen the course of the disease. Alternative treatment implies the use of various herbs in the form of tinctures, decoctions, infusions, juice, etc.
Treatment of stomach cancer with herbs
Treatment of stomach cancer with herbs is an application, both for the collection of herbs and for each herb individually. The most effective in the treatment of stomach cancer are such herbs as - celandine, hemlock, propolis, wormwood, calendula, ayr and burdock. It is believed that a more pronounced effect will be observed from the use of harvesting herbs.
- Collection of herbs - root of araus (10 grams) + inflorescences of a cobweb (25 grams) + cobweb root (35 grams) + buddy's inflorescence of the field (50 grams) + poplar buds black (5 grams). This mixture is poured with a liter of boiling water, cooled, filtered and used on a glass at least four times a day.
You can apply and infusion of wormwood - 30 grams of crushed wormwood pour boiling water - half a liter and insist two hours - a daily dose. Take half a cup before meals for half an hour.
Treatment of stomach cancer with celandine
Treatment of gastric cancer with celandine is one of the effective alternative means in cancer therapy. Purity in this pathology can be used as infusions, tinctures, decoctions or juice. Purity is detrimental to tumor cells, relieves spasms, removes pain and restores damaged tissue. In the treatment of gastric cancer, the following recipes are used from celandine:
- The use of broth from celandine - 200-300 ml of boiling water pour 15 grams of celandine grass, then heated in a water bath for fifteen minutes. Then squeeze and add water to make one glass. Drink one third of a glass for half an hour before meals, three times throughout the day - 10 days. Then - break ten days and continue treatment for 14 days, after - a break of 14 days, and then again therapy for seven days. There should be two or three courses.
- Use tincture celandine - a liter of celandine juice pour 250-300 milliliters of alcohol 96 °. Eat 15 grams four times a day before meals for a month, after - a break of ten days and again continue therapy. And thus three or three and a half months.
- You can make a tincture of a mixture of celandine (one part of infusion) + tincture peppermint (three parts) + rose hips (six parts). Eat 30 grams three times a day before meals for 15-20 minutes. The course of therapy is two to three weeks.
If the cancer of the stomach is not cured after taking celandine, it is recommended to take hemlock.
Treatment of gastric cancer of the hemlock
The treatment of stomach cancer of the hemlock is one of the few popular drugs currently available that can be effective in the treatment of cancer. To treat stomach cancer use tincture hemlock, which is a natural chemotherapeutic agent that can stop the growth of cancer cells, and causes their destruction. Grass hemlock contains an alkaloid substance - konin, as a result of which it has both medicinal and toxic properties, which requires caution when using it and use in recommended dosages.
The alkaloid substance of the hemlock-coneyin, is antigenic for the organism and upon entering the blood causes specific immunity reactions that are accompanied by the production of specific proteins-antibodies. Antibodies fight against the antigen - konin and simultaneously destroy cancer cells, which are also antigens. There is an opinion that antibodies most effectively destroy free cancer cells, namely metastasizing, so the use of hemlock is especially shown in advanced stages of stomach cancer - with numerous distant metastases.
Tincture hemlock can buy or cook yourself. Recipe for self-cooking tincture hemlock next - gather inflorescences and green hemlock seeds. Then two-thirds of the collected material of the hemlock is filled with one third of 60% alcohol, firmly closed and left in a dark, cool place for three weeks, and more - for four. After that, tincture is filtered and proceeds to therapy.
Or, you can pour 10 grams of herbs in 200 or 250 ml vodka, insist for ten days.
Methods of using hemlock tincture:
- Begin taking the tincture from the 1st drop, every day increase the dose by one drop. It is necessary to monitor the state of health until the patient feels the first symptoms of poisoning, after which the dose is reduced by two to five drops and used until the symptoms disappear, then again it is necessary to go on increasing the dosage. Usually the increased dose is 40 drops per day. The number of cycles of using the tincture is unlimited - after forty days of taking a break for seven to ten days. I drink tincture of hemlock with water - for every thirteen drops - one hundred milliliters of water.
For attenuated patients, the dosage of the tincture is 15-18 drops per day one hour before a meal. When there are signs of poisoning - nausea, diarrhea, dizziness - the dose is reduced to one drop, after the disappearance of signs of intoxication again increase the dosage.
- On the first day, five drops of tincture are used, after - every day increase the intake by one drop and reach 30 drops. Then - with 30 drops to reduce the dose to five. Use tincture once a day for forty minutes before eating. Tincture is always consumed with water - up to thirteen drops - one hundred milliliters of water, from thirteen and above - 150 ml of water.
It should be noted that in severely debilitated and operated people, it is possible to stop and not increase the dose of tincture after feeling the improvement of the condition and continue to use it at the dose at which it became better.
When poisoning with hemlock, it is recommended to use strong coffee.
Propolis treatment of gastric cancer
Treatment with propolis gastric cancer is recommended by alternative medicine after surgery and chemotherapy. Propolis has a unique property - it has a selective destructive effect only on cancer cells, which makes it effective in the treatment of stomach cancer. According to scientific research after the application of propolis in cancer patients it is noted:
- improvement of general well-being,
- increase appetite and improve the work of the gastrointestinal tract,
- restoration of working capacity,
- normalization of sleep,
- increasing the body's immune forces,
- improvement of quality and prolongation of life.
Methods of using propolis in stomach cancer:
- every day before eating about four times a day, a bead of dry propolis (two to five grams) is not chewed without water. To consume for two months.
- 10% or 20% of the extract of propolis use forty drops, diluted in 50 milliliters of water three to four times a day before meals. The course of therapy is one month.
- The use of propolis water, which you can cook yourself. Propolis is crushed and poured with boiled water one to two, kept in a water bath for fifteen to twenty minutes at a temperature of no higher than eighty degrees, stirring constantly. Then strain and drink five grams twice a day for two weeks. The course is repeated one month later, if necessary. Water can be stored for three months in a dark place.
- The use of propolis milk - half a liter of milk is brought to a boil and add crushed propolis - 30-50 grams, keep on low heat for ten minutes, filter, cool, remove the wax layer and pour into the darkened container. Eat three grams twenty minutes before meals.
- You can use propolisnoe oil for five grams with ten grams of milk for thirty minutes before eating, three times a day.
Treatment of stomach cancer by the Shevchenko method
The treatment of stomach cancer by the Shevchenko method consists in using a mixture that can be prepared at home - 30 ml of unrefined sunflower oil is mixed with 30 ml of vodka (40% alcohol), the mixture is vigorously shaken for five minutes and dries very quickly so that the mixture does not divided into alcohol and oil. With insufficient therapeutic effect, you can increase the dosage of the components - 35 + 35 or 40 ml +40 ml.
The mixture prepared by the Shevchenko method is drunk before meals for twenty minutes at the same intervals, but not earlier than 5-6 hours. The course of therapy is ten days, then break for five days and again the therapy with the mixture, and thus two times in a row. After the third time the mixture is interrupted for 14 days. It turns out one course of therapy for stomach cancer using the Shevchenko method. Such courses should be held one after the other for two to three consecutive years until complete recovery.
Treatment of 1 - 3 stages of stomach cancer
Treatment of 1 - 3 stages of stomach cancer consists in performing a surgical intervention - gastrectomy or gastrectomy (complete removal of the stomach). The volume of the operation - total or subtotal resection - is determined by surgeons oncologists and is determined by the location of the tumor and its size. To prevent a relapse of the disease, often after surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy is prescribed.
Variants of methods of therapy for stomach cancer depending on the stage.
- 1st stage of stomach cancer:
- Surgical intervention - subtotal resection of the stomach - partially removed stomach and nearby located lymph nodes.
- Operation - gastrectomy - completely removes the stomach, surrounding tissue with regional lymph nodes.
- Operation (total or subtotal cutting) + chemotherapy.
- 2 nd and 3 rd stages of stomach cancer:
- Surgical treatment is subtotal resection.
- Surgical intervention - complete removal of the stomach.
- Chemotherapy.
- Surgery + chemotherapy.
- Gastrectomy + chemotherapy + radiotherapy.
Symptomatic therapy is also performed - elimination of depression (work with a psychologist), dyspeptic syndrome (nausea, vomiting), increase of the body's immune forces (vitamins - C, E, P, B), etc.
Treatment of stage 4 of stomach cancer
Treatment of stage 4 of stomach cancer is mainly symptomatic and is aimed at improving the quality of life of the patient by limiting the spread of the tumor, reducing its growth rate, preserving the work of all organs and preventing complications. At the 4 stages of cancer of the stomach, these therapies are used:
- palliative surgery,
- radiation therapy and / or chemotherapy,
- hormonal therapy,
- immunotherapy.
These methods of therapy can be used both independently of each other, and in a complex.
Treatment of stomach cancer after surgery
Treatment of stomach cancer after surgery is very important and is as follows:
- After surgery, the first two to three days after the resection and four to six days after the gastrectomy performed, eating and drinking water are excluded orally. The required volume of liquid, and the amount of nutrients compensated for by intravenous injection - nutrient solutions with insulin, vitamins and injected preparations based on proteins. The daily amount of injected fluid required by the body is calculated on the basis of the blood counts and overall well-being of the patient and on average is two liters.
- Oxygen therapy is performed (oxygen is introduced if necessary), respiratory gymnastics.
- In the postoperative period, antibacterial drugs are prescribed: cephalosporins (cefepime, cefotaxime), carbapenems (meropenem), polymyxins, amoxiclav, ampiox, etc.
- Painkillers - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (diclobert, ketanov), if necessary - narcotic analgesics.
- With the doctor's permission, the patient is allowed to take liquid food first, after which the diet gradually expands and the use of ground soup, liquid porridge, sour cream, kefir is allowed and on the seventh-tenth day there is a transition to table 1 - gastric.
- After such an operation, vitamin B12 is prescribed.
If necessary, after the operation, chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy is prescribed. In the postoperative period, physical activities, physical therapy, a solarium and trips to the beach are prohibited. Complete recovery after surgery on the stomach occurs within six months. Patients should be under constant doctor's supervision after the operation.
More information of the treatment
The price of treatment of stomach cancer
The cost of treating stomach cancer is quite high and depends on the clinic where the therapy will be carried out, from the stage of cancer and from the methods of treatment. In Ukraine, the price of stomach cancer treatment is on average:
- radiotherapy - from 16 000 to 110 700 hryvnia (from 20 to 35 days),
- combined therapy (surgical treatment + radiotherapy) - from 64 000 to 120 000 hryvnia (10 to 20 days),
- Laparoscopic surgery for stomach cancer - from 30 000 hryvnia,
- finding in a surgical hospital - an average of 3 000 hryvnia per day,
- stay in the intensive care unit - about 4 500 hryvnia per day,
- consultation of leading oncologists - from 1,500 to 2,500 hryvnia.
The price of treatment for stomach cancer abroad is much higher.