Toby Keith’s Anthem Powers U.S. Hockey’s Olympic Win as Experts Highlight Key Steps in Stomach Cancer Treatment
- The U.S. hockey team celebrated its Olympic gold to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,” honoring the late country star whose patriotic legacy endured through his battle with gastric cancer and posthumous Hall of Fame induction.
- Keith, diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2021, underwent extensive treatment and stepped back from performing, with experts noting that finding joy—something he continued to embrace—can meaningfully support patients’ emotional well‑being.
- When doctors suspect stomach cancer, they often start with blood work to check organ function and look for signs like low red blood cell levels, which can hint at underlying issues, Dr. Sofya Pintova explains.
- Surgery for stomach cancer aims to remove the tumor and part or all of the stomach, and many patients receive chemotherapy beforehand to shrink the cancer and make it easier to remove — a strategy some centers favor because patients often tolerate chemo better before surgery, Dr. Alan Lima Pereira notes.
View this post on Instagram
In the months following his passing, Keith was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Fans honoring his legacy often return to his most beloved patriotic tracks, including “Red Solo Cup,” “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” and “American Soldier.”
Keith first revealed his stomach cancer diagnosis in 2021.
According to the National Cancer Institute, gastric cancer begins in the cells lining the stomach, and treatment often involves a combination of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery—all of which Keith underwent. He stepped away from touring to focus on his health, leaning on family, music, and moments of joy to carry him through.
Finding joy during cancer treatment isn’t just emotionally meaningful—it can support overall well-being. SurvivorNet experts, such as Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at UCLA, emphasize that nurturing joy and emotional health can make a meaningful difference for patients navigating a difficult diagnosis.
Expert Resources for Gastric Cancer Patients
- Advanced Gastric Cancer: The Importance of a Diagnostic Laparoscopy
- Endoscopic Resection for Gastric Cancer: An Advanced Treatment Offering Hope
- Genetic Testing for Gastric Cancer: What to Know & What to Ask Your Doctor
- Immunotherapy for Gastric Cancer — You May Be Eligible But There are Considerations
- How to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle While Undergoing Chemotherapy for Gastric Cancer
- Initial Workup and Staging Strategy For Gastric Cancer
- Systemic Treatments for Advanced Gastric Cancer: Eligibility is Not the Whole Story
- Surgery for Gastric Cancer: What You Need to Know
What You Should Know About Stomach Cancer
Gastric cancer, also called stomach cancer, originates in the stomach. The most common type of stomach cancer is adenocarcinoma, which begins in the stomach’s inner lining.
Doctors can use advanced endoscopic techniques — a thin, lighted tube with a tiny camera — that is inserted into the body through the mouth to view the throat, esophagus, stomach, and other areas. If patients manage to catch stomach cancer early, treatment is much easier to endure.
WATCH: Understanding stomach cancer risk factors
Symptoms of stomach cancer vary depending on how advanced the cancer is. For early-stage stomach cancer, symptoms may include:
- Bloating after eating
- Indigestion and upset stomach
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite
Symptoms for more advanced stomach cancer may include:
- Unexplained weight loss
- Stomach pain
- Bloody stool
- Vomiting
- Jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes)
- Difficulty swallowing
While experiencing any of these symptoms does not always mean stomach cancer, if you find yourself dealing with these issues more frequently, contact your doctor for some follow-up tests.
WATCH: How is stomach cancer staged?
“If a physician is suspecting stomach cancer … one of the first simple tests to do is blood work,” Dr. Sofya Pintova, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at Mount Sinai Cancer Center in New York City, tells SurvivorNet.
“In the blood work, we are looking for several specific things. We’re looking at the organ function, such as liver function and kidney function, but we’re also looking at the level of red blood cells in the blood. So, if the level of red blood cells is low, that is called anemia. And when someone has a new anemia that cannot be explained for other reasons, obvious reasons like a recent bleeding from the nose, for example, or other types of bleeding, then that warrants an evaluation by a gastroenterologist,” she adds.
Patients may also present with signs or symptoms of distant metastatic (spread) disease. The most common sites of metastatic disease are the liver, the peritoneal surfaces, and the lymph nodes.
Besides blood exams to evaluate anemia, nutritional status, and overall biochemistry, the most important exam is the upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.
“If a cancer is found in the stomach, the next step for us as oncologists or surgeons would be staging. And what staging means is we ask ourselves: is the tumor, the cancer still confined only to the stomach, or has it spread to other organs?” Dr. Pintova explains. “So, several tests that we usually do to identify are what’s called radiology tests or imaging that could take the form of computerized tomography scans, PET scans, sometimes MRIs.”
Treating Stomach Cancer
Surgery is often the most critical part of the treatment process for gastric cancer, especially in cases where the disease is localized and has not spread extensively beyond the stomach.
The goal of surgery is to remove the cancer, along with part or all of the stomach, depending on how much the cancer has spread. Surgeons aim to ensure that no cancer cells are left behind, which gives patients the best chance at long-term survival.
RELATED: Surgery for Gastric Cancer: What You Need to Know
WATCH: When is chemo given before surgery?
For patients whose cancer is at an earlier stage, surgery can often be curative. Surgery may still be an option even for patients with more advanced cancer.
Systemic therapies, such as chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy, may also be used. Eligibility for these treatment approaches will depend on several factors, such as the stage of the cancer, the patient’s general health, and the results of biomarker testing.
Stomach cancer patients who are eligible for chemotherapy may receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which means chemo before surgery. This approach aims to shrink the tumor and improve the chances that it can be completely removed during surgery. By targeting the cancer cells beforehand, the treatment may help make surgery more effective and reduce the risk of cancer returning.
RELATED: What are the Treatment Options for Advanced Gastric Cancer?
“We notice that it’s easier for patients to receive chemotherapy before surgery [rather than after]. So some cancer centers around the U.S. try to offer more chemotherapy before surgery,” Dr. Alan Lima Pereira, a medical oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, tells SurvivorNet.
The neoadjuvant chemotherapy may involve getting chemo every other week, four to six times, before surgery, followed by additional chemotherapy after surgery.
As Woods has expressed, chemotherapy side effects can be harsh on the body.
RELATED: How to Deal With the Side Effects of Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can cause side effects, including fatigue, nausea, and hair loss. However, these side effects can often be managed.
The side effects experienced from these two chemo approaches varied slightly:
- FLOT Regimen: Patients experienced higher rates of certain side effects like low white blood cell counts (which can increase infection risk), diarrhea, infections, and numbness or tingling in hands and feet.
- Standard Therapy (epirubicin, cisplatin, and fluorouracil – ECF): Patients had higher rates of nausea, vomiting, and blood clots.
Questions To Ask Your Doctor
If you’ve been diagnosed with stomach cancer and are feeling confused about your diagnosis, consider asking your doctor the following questions.
- What stage is my gastric cancer?
- Should I receive chemotherapy before surgery? Why?
- What are the potential side effects of chemotherapy?
- How can I manage the side effects?
- What are the risks and benefits of combining chemotherapy with surgery vs. surgery alone?
- How long will my treatment last?
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
