Ahmednagar resident was treated for both and has been discharged When 63-year-old Ahmednagar resident Lata Godbole was diagnosed with breast

Ahmednagar resident was treated for both and has been discharged

When 63-year-old Ahmednagar resident Lata Godbole was diagnosed with breast cancer, little did she know it wasn’t all that her body was suffering from. Godbole came from Ahmednagar to Pune to get her breast cancer treated and had to undergo surgery to get rid out of the tumour. During the physical examination, however, doctors at Ruby Hall Clinic came across an unusually large lump in her abdomen. They suggested that she undergo further investigation and she was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach tumour called the gastro-intestinal stromal tumour (GIST).”

GISTs are soft-tissue sarcomas that can be located in any part of the digestive system, their most common sites being the stomach and small intestine. GISTs start in specialised nerve cells located in the walls of the digestive system which are part of the autonomic nervous system. A specific change in the DNA of one of these cells, which control digestive processes, gives rise to a GIST.

Dr Gajanan Kanitkar, consultant oncosurgeon at Ruby Hall Clinic, elaborated, “I happened to come across an unusually large lump in the patient’s abdomen during a routine physical examination. I was immediately suspicious and suggested she undergo further tests. As suspected, it was what I had feared. The patient not only had breast cancer, but also this rare stomach tumour.”

She underwent surgery on June 11 and was discharged on June 17.

Kanitkar added, “Many patients with smaller tumours have no symptoms. Larger tumours may cause digestive discomfort, sensations of abdominal fullness or abdominal pain. Sometimes, larger tumours may also be detectable as a mass when feeling the abdomen, or as a visible enlargement of the abdomen. Some patients experience vomiting or diarrhoea and bowel obstruction. While GIST is rare, its combination with breast cancer makes it even rarer in this case. Currently, global medical literature has documented only about 25 such cases in the world. Surgery was the only option in this case and the patient has been cancerfree ever since.”

Speaking to Mirror, Godbole said, “My family and I were in shock when we found out that I was suffering from not just one but two kinds of cancers. I was lucky to have undergone just one surgery which rid me of both.”

Dr Rakesh Neve, senior onco-surgeon at Noble Hospital, said, “There are chances of one patient having two tumours at the same time but the percentage is rare. Stromal tumours are rare and there is no specific cause or way to avoid it. The tumour occurs in the inner lining of the stomach muscles and the growth is spontaneous.”