Question: Hello my mum has stomach cancer she was diagnosed in December 2016 as stage 3 and they did a laparoscopy and endoscopy she was told t4n1m0. The plan was 3 cycles of chemo then whole stomach removal then 3 more cycles of chemo 6 weeks later she began pre op chemo 3 cycles of ecx. they have done a ct scan two weeks after completing chemo and said they need to do a pet scan because of loss of fat planes ( they said she has virtually none) and asked my mum if she had lost a lot of weight during chemo. She lost maybe 12 pounds in 9 weeks but was eating good foods rather than rubbish foods which she ate prior to diagnosis. During chemo she felt nauseas all the time and was sick a few times and very tired so That also impacted weight loss. Now it has finished she is slowly putting weight on. She also had muscle tests during chemo to check muscle loss and at the end of chemo compared and they were very happy with her muscle readings.They have said surgery isn't off the table but from the ct scan they can't tell one way or another. Does this mean there is a spread? What is the likelihood? Thank you in advance , XXXX

Before chemo started they did a laparoscopy. The surgeon said it was the best possible outcome of the day and that there were clear margins and it was XXXXXXX and not stuck on anything. After speaking with the nurse about the ct scan results she said surgery wasn't off the table and even though tumour was the same size and stage that didn't mean the chemo had not done its job. Is it possible the ct scan can be wrong about the lack of fat planes. Could it be inflammation? Why did the nurse say surgery is still an option if there isn't much fat planes. How clear is a ct scan at showing loss of fat planes and is that what they are checking with the pet scan??

Ok thank you that makes a lot more sense. I have heard off others that ct scans and pet scans were actually showing worse than when the surgeon went in laparoscopically which is the only real way to know. We are seeing the surgeon tomorrow to discuss. They were originally going for a cure and hopefully still are. What kind of questions do you think I should be asking the surgeon ??

From the onset the consultants have said that they are comparing scans. This one from there original scan . Presumably she had fat planes then as she was a stone and a half heavier. Do you Think they are concerned comparing the fat planes with each other. For example if a thin person who is initially diagnosed with stomach cancer same stage as my mum would the original scan for them show little fat planes because of the size. In other words if you are very thin and don't have cancer should you still have fat planes ???