“My husband had to have surgery for his tumor. Is it likely that all the cancer is gone?”
My husband had a tumor on his stomach and just had surgery to remove it--the tumor was also cancerous. How likely is it that all the cancer is gone?
3 Answers
It depends on what we call the stage of the cancer. If it is an early stage cancer it is not likely to recur her but if it is an advanced stage cancer the chances are much higher. You should have this specific Stage related conversation with his surgeon
This is a good question. While the tumor was cancerous, there are multiple types of cancerous tumors of the stomach. It could be that a simple removal could be curative. Other types of cancers require chemotherapy as part of the treatment. Depending on the type of cancer, lymph nodes may have been taken and if there is involvement of the lymph nodes, then cure rates decrease (although cure is still possible). This is a complex question, and a full answer cannot be given with just the information provided.
The surgery will remove the tumor or cancerous mass. It is impossible to know that all the cells are gone. Sometimes depending on the cancer type and pathology we need to add radiation and/or chemo to get the cells we can’t see.
