3. The Pivotal Moment: Stage II Gastric Cancer
When we arrive at Stage II, the stakes are significantly raised. The cancer is no longer merely dipping its toes in the water; it’s diving in. Stage II is where treatment plans take a turn for the aggressive, with a combination of therapies being the go-to strategy. Unlike Stage I, the game here is no longer timid.
Stage II comes with subtypes: IIA and IIB. Each tells a different tale of cancer’s intrusiveness. In Stage IIA, the cancer is still within the stomach’s layers but has taken the liberty to visit a few nearby lymph nodes. Stage IIB, however, suggests that the cancer may have taken up more room, making itself at home in multiple layers and possibly multiple lymph nodes.
Chemotherapy often precedes surgical interventions in Stage II. This neoadjuvant therapy aims to shrink the tumor size, making the subsequent surgery more manageable and potentially more successful. Post-surgery, patients may undergo additional chemotherapy or even radiation therapy to double down on killing any remaining cancer cells.
A fascinating yet grim aspect of Stage II is that the cancer cells may exhibit mutations that make them more resilient to treatments. Medical professionals may carry out genomic or molecular tests on the tumor to understand its specific characteristics. This information can inform a personalized treatment plan that targets these unique cancer cell traits. (3)
