The main task of treatment for the advanced cancer is to slow down the growth of the malignant tumor, alleviate the patient’s symptoms, and prolong his life while preserving its quality. In Germany, all the best methods and achievements of world medicine are used. Physicians manage to relieve severe symptoms to the extent possible at the stage of pathology. Treatment is selected individually for each patient, based on the health condition and the characteristics of the tumor.

Is surgery an option for stomach cancer stage 4?

Surgery isn’t a primary option for stomach cancer at advanced stages, but it can be carried out in the presence of indications. The main indications for surgical intervention are life-threatening conditions such as bleeding from the neoplasm, perforation of the stomach wall, narrowing of the stomach with an inability to consume food, etc.

Clearly, radical intervention cannot be performed due to the severity of the patient’s condition and widespread affection of the surrounding tissues. Therefore, surgeons resort to palliative surgeries. There are two types of such interventions:

• Symptomatic surgeries, which eliminate severe or life-threatening symptoms of gastric cancer.
• Cytoreductive operations, which reduce the degree of tumor intoxication by reducing the size of the primary neoplasm and metastases.

It is worth keeping in mind that these surgeries aim to eliminate the consequences of oncopathology, not to cure.

Read more information about other treatment options following the link.

Conservative options

If a patient comes to a German oncological clinic with stage 4 stomach cancer, surgical methods of treatment (if any are included in the treatment regimen) will be supplemented by courses of chemotherapy, and in some cases, combined with radiotherapy.

Chemotherapy courses allow reducing the volume of the tumor significantly. In some cases, postoperative chemotherapy is combined with radiation therapy.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can be supplemented by immunotherapy (the latest treatment method with drugs that force the immune system to fight cancer). If indicated, targeted medications (medicines that specifically destroy tumor cells) are used. Novel high-quality therapies actively reduce the total number of tumor cells, which allows to stabilize the process, reduce the symptoms of cancer intoxication, eliminate the pain syndrome, extend the patient’s life and improve its quality even at the last stage of the disease.

The regimen of chemotherapy is chosen based on the experience of previous treatment, as well as the general condition of the patient. For a patient with numerous metastases, targeted or immunotherapy often comes to the forefront of the treatment.

The goal of radiation therapy when cancer has spread is to reduce the growth rate of the tumor as much as possible and to destroy metastases.

At German hospitals, treatment is conducted under the supervision of a team of specialists: an oncologist, a surgeon, a chemotherapist, and others. It is also mandatory for people with stage 4 cancer to visit a psychotherapist. Medical staff take every opportunity to make sure that patients are treated in a caring and comfortable environment. They aim to improve not only physical well-being but also mental condition.

How to go to Germany for treatment during a lockdown?

Accepting the stage 4 cancer diagnosis is hard, but German hospitals have all the means to extend the patient’s life and improve its quality significantly. Going to Germany is worth the effort and money, as the country is known for its impeccable level of medicine.

And while German doctors will provide you with quality medical care, Booking Health will help you get there, organizing every step of your treatment. There’s no single reason to go through a treatment organization on your own, especially considering the lockdown restrictions, the condition of a patient with stage 4 stomach cancer, and little room for trial and error.

You don’t need to worry about anything with Booking Health: the company will support you throughout your treatment journey, prepare all the necessary documents, schedule appointments, get you a medical visa, book airline tickets and transfers. All you will need to do is basically show up.

You are welcome to read more about stage 4 stomach cancer treatment in Germany on the Booking Health website.