Stage IV Gastric Cancer: Ernie's Patient Story
This gastric cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage IV
- Sex
- Male
- Treatment
- chemotherapy
- Outcome
- In Memory
Treatment course, step by step
- He received chemotherapy for Stage IV gastric cancer.
- For 15 months, nutrition was provided through a feeding tube that bypassed his stomach.
What happened, in summary
Ernie Pierce was 62 when an operation expected to remove his gallbladder instead revealed Stage IV gastric cancer on March 31, 2008. He had spent almost a year seeking answers for early fullness, worsening discomfort, pain, and significant weight loss, but repeated tests and biopsies had not found the cancer.
The disease was too advanced for cancer surgery, and his family was told that treatment was unlikely to change the outcome. Ernie nevertheless received chemotherapy. For the next 15 months, he depended on a feeding tube that delivered nutrition directly to his intestines and faced repeated obstacles and setbacks.
Ernie died on July 8, 2009. His family later organized a memorial golf tournament that raised more than $50,000 over 3 years for gastric-cancer research. His 65th birthday, June 21, 2010, was proclaimed Gastric Cancer Awareness Day in Oklahoma.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by No Stomach For Cancer. 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