Guest Blog: My story of surviving stomach cancer in Turkiye – PART III

Guest Blog 7 – PART III

By Mehtap Savaş

January 2025

Ankara, Turkiye

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This guest blog consists of seven parts – hyperlinks will be added as they are published in order:

PART I – INTRODUCTION (please see here)

PART II – LIFE WITH CANCER AND TREATMENT (please see here)

PART III – LIFE WITHOUT A STOMACH

PART IV – RETURN TO WORK AND IMPACT OF CANCER (please see here)

PART V – FOLLOW UP: GOOD DOCTORS, BAD DOCTORS (please see here)

PART VI – CURRENT STATE & FINAL WORDS (please see here)

PART VII – SILENCE OF THE MOTHERS (please see here)

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PART III – LIFE WITHOUT A STOMACH

AFTER TREATMENT
After my treatment, my pain and fatigue continued for a long time, as seen in my photo. It took me a long time to feel good physically. It was not possible to fully return to the past anyway.

After the end of the treatment, I had monthly check-ups for a year. In the following years, we started check-ups every two months, then every three months, every six months, and then after 6 years, we started annual check-ups. After the twelfth year, I went back to 3-monthly check-ups all over again.

I want to start by saying that a lot happens. Since our digestive system loses its most important part, digestive and excretory problems begin. Not being able to drink water, difficulty swallowing, taking external supplements throughout life (because the food we eat needs to be processed in the stomach in order for the body to produce /absorb vitamin B12 and iron), bloating that sometimes starts with the first bite, not being able to vomit, gas problems, and completely eliminating some foods from your life. 

Since there is no gastric valve (actually known as a valve, it is a condition that occurs when the muscles at the entrance and exit of the stomach are stretched), when you bend over for a long time, the food you eat or acid secretion comes into your mouth, and acid splashes cause great pain in your throat, especially at night. And most importantly, experiencing dumping syndrome is one of the first things that come to my mind.  

And to patiently answer the question of where does the food you eat go if you don't have a stomach?    

I would like to detail some of these to make them more understandable.

Dumping Syndrome: This is a very important syndrome we experience. The reason is that since we do not have a stomach, the food we eat passes directly into our small intestine, and since absorption begins immediately in the small intestine, if you eat something that will raise your blood sugar, your blood sugar will suddenly skyrocket. 

The pancreas secretes insulin to lower high blood sugar, and this time your sugar drops too low, so you go into hypoglycemia. During hypoglycemia, my back feels like it's on fire, I start shaking and feeling extremely dizzy. To fix this situation, you need to raise your sugar again. You return to normal about 20 minutes after eating sugar. 

Not being able to drink water: Since I don't have a stomach, when I drink water it goes straight down and causes pain. To avoid this, I have to drink it in small sips. Water is incredibly unpleasant when drunk this way. I was drinking fruit compote with very little sugar for fluid intake. Then I started drinking iced tea. At least it didn't require small sips since it had a taste. Even though I can now drink a few sips in a row, I still cannot drink water. 

I'm not alone in this. There are many patients in my situation. One person said that he started drinking water after 15 years. I hope I can drink it too one day. 

And I will be free from the pressure of people who constantly tell me why I need to drink water and say that I cannot live without water. I want to ask them. If you can't live without water, how have I been living for 15 years?

Difficulty swallowing: This is actually pretty detailed. In short: The muscles required for swallowing in the esophagus do not stretch, and the food you swallow remains stuck at the beginning, middle, and sometimes at the end of the esophagus. I sneeze repeatedly as a result of my body's reaction, especially if I swallowed quickly. People generally think that I sneeze because I am sick. 

The worst thing is that the thing you swallow reaches your windpipe before it enters the esophagus and you are left breathless, trying to stay calm and expel what you ate, bloating, not being able to vomit (10 years later, I started vomiting by stretching my abdominal muscles), even after 15 years, it is more common than before. 

Imagine experiencing the same symptoms repeatedly while eating something.

One day, while I was waiting in line for a CT scan at the hospital, an old lady sitting next to me said that she could only eat one apple the night before. I waited 8 years to eat an apple. I still can't eat an apple at once.

And those who force me to eat and eat sweets outside my immediate circle. This can be very overwhelming and actually shows that they are not really listening to me even though I have explained my situation over and over. 

NEXT: PART IV – RETURN TO WORK & IMPACT OF CANCER