If symptoms of stomach cancer have been present for x amount of years, can one tell how many years it takes to get to a certain stage of stomach cancer or is it dependent on the type of cancer cell or is there no way to measure and its really case by case? Is there an average (measure in time) for each stage? ie. 5 years to get to stage 1, 2 years to get to stage 3 and finally 1 year to get to stage 4?
Hi, Thanks for writing in. Cancer happens when there is uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells anywhere in the body. A cancer can be of many types cased on grading and staging. Grading is the type of cells and histopathological variation in cancer. A well differentiated cancer is a less aggressive cancer than a poorly differentiated one. Cancers can take any course and do not follow any fixed course as you have asked. However, it is true that later the cancer stage at the time of presentation, greater is the aggressiveness leading to higher morbidity and mortality in the later stages. Stage I and II of cancer stomach are well treated by surgery and then follow-up chemotherapy and radiation. Stage III and IV cancer are less likely to be operable and treatment involves chemotherapy and radiation. Patients with stage 4 stomach cancer might survive for 6 months to 2 years when provided treatment and follow up.