Stage IV Gastric Adenocarcinoma: Derek's Survivor Story
This gastric cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Subtype
- Adenocarcinoma
- Sex
- Male
- Spread to
- peritoneum
- Treatment
- chemotherapy, surgery and clinical trial
- Outcome
- Cancer-Free / NED
Treatment course, step by step
- Completed 8 rounds of FLOT chemotherapy with fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and docetaxel.
- Had an intraperitoneal port placed and superficial abdominal lesions removed for a clinical trial.
- Completed 3 cycles of intraperitoneal paclitaxel given every 2 weeks.
- Underwent total gastrectomy with cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC on January 28, 2025.
- After 1 month of recovery, completed 3 more cycles of paclitaxel, and the port was removed in April.
What happened, in summary
Derek Cooney, an emergency physician, was 48 when difficulty eating and drinking led to testing and a diagnosis of diffuse gastric adenocarcinoma. A laparoscopy showed that the cancer had spread to his peritoneum, making it Stage IV.
Derek began with 8 rounds of FLOT chemotherapy using fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin and docetaxel. He then joined an MD Anderson clinical trial that added paclitaxel delivered directly into the abdominal cavity. A port was placed and superficial abdominal lesions were removed, followed by 3 paclitaxel cycles every 2 weeks. On January 28, 2025, he underwent total gastrectomy, cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC. After a month of recovery, he completed 3 more paclitaxel cycles.
At his first follow-up in June, scans showed no evidence of disease. Cancer had delayed Derek's planned fellowship in interventional pain management, but he later completed it and returned to medicine with a renewed focus on sleep, time away from work and family life.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by MD Anderson. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer