Prevention Of Stomach Cancer

It is not clear what causes stomach cancer, so there is no way to stop it. But you can take steps to reduce the risk of stomach cancer, making small changes to everyday life. For example, try:

Eat more fruits and vegetables. Try to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your diet each day. Choose a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables.

Reduce the amount of salt and smoked food you eat. Protect your stomach, limiting these foods. Experiment with herbs and other ways to flavor food that does not add sodium.

Stop smoking. If you smoke, quit. If you do not smoke, do not start. Smoking increases the risk of stomach cancer, as well as many other types of cancer. Quitting smoking can be very difficult, so ask your doctor for help.

Ask your doctor about your risk of stomach cancer. Some medical conditions increase your risk of stomach cancer, such as anemia, gastritis and gastric polyps. If you have been diagnosed with these conditions, ask your doctor how this affects your risk of gastric cancer. Together, you can consider periodic endoscopy to look for signs of stomach cancer. There are no guidelines for who should be screened for stomach cancer in the United States. But in some cases, you and your doctor determine your risk is high enough that the benefits of screening outweigh the potential risks.

Treatment Of Stomach Cancer

Treatment options for stomach cancer depends on the stage of cancer, your general health and your choice.

Surgery

The goal of surgery is to remove all stomach cancers and a margin of healthy tissue, if possible. Options include:

The removal of early-stage tumors in the abdominal cavity. Only a very small tumors in the stomach lining can be removed using endoscopy a procedure called endoscopic mucosal resection. An endoscope is a lighted tube with a camera that is passed down the throat to your stomach. The doctor will use special tools to remove the tumor and a margin of healthy tissue from the abdominal cavity.

Removal of part of the stomach (partial gastrectomy). During subtotal gastrectomy, the surgeon removes only the part of the stomach is affected by cancer.

The removal of the entire stomach (total gastrektomia). Total gastrektomia involves removing whole stomach and part of the surrounding tissue. Esophagus is then connected directly to the small intestine in order to move food through the digestive system.

Removal of lymph nodes for cancer. The surgeon examined and removed lymph nodes in the abdomen to check for cancer cells.

Surgery to relieve the signs and symptoms. Remove the abdomen can relieve the signs and symptoms of a tumor that develops in people with advanced cancer of the stomach. In this case, surgery can not cure stomach cancer, but it can make you more comfortable.

Surgery carries a risk of bleeding and infection. If all or part of your stomach is removed, you may experience problems with digestion.

Radiotherapy

Radiation therapy uses beams of high power consumption, such as X-rays to kill cancer cells. The energy rays come from a machine that moves around you as you lie on a table.

Radiotherapy can be used before surgery (neoadjuvant radiotherapy) to shrink the tumor in the abdomen, it is easier to remove. Radiation therapy can also be used after surgery (adjuvant) radiation to kill any cancer cells that might remain around the stomach. The radiation is often combined with chemotherapy. Cases of advanced cancer, radiation therapy can alleviate the side effects caused by large tumors.

Radiation therapy to the abdomen can cause diarrhea, indigestion, nausea and vomiting.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a medical treatment that uses chemicals to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs travel throughout the body, killing cancer cells that have spread beyond the stomach.

Chemotherapy may be given before surgery (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) to help shrink a tumor so that it can easily be removed. Chemotherapy is also used after surgery (adjuvant chemotherapy) to kill cancer cells that may remain in the body. Chemotherapy is often associated with radiotherapy. Chemotherapy may be used only in people with advanced cancer of the stomach to help relieve the signs and symptoms.

Chemotherapy may be the only treatment used for people with rare forms of stomach cancer, such as gastric lymphoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

Chemotherapy side effects depend on the drugs are used. Type of cancer of the stomach is necessary to determine which chemotherapy drugs you receive.

Targeted drugs

Targeted therapy uses drugs that attack specific abnormalities within cancer cells. Targeted drugs used to treat a rare cancer called gastrointestinal stromal tumor stomach. Targeted drugs used to treat this cancer are imatinib (Gleevec) and sunitinib (Sutent).

Clinical trials

Clinical trials are studies of new treatments and new ways of using existing treatments. Participating in a clinical trial can give you the opportunity to try the latest treatments. However, clinical trials can not be guaranteed a cure. In some cases, researchers may have some side effects of new treatment.

Ask your doctor if you may qualify for a clinical trial. Together you can discuss the benefits and risks.

Symptoms Of Stomach Cancer

Signs and symptoms of stomach cancer may include:

Fatigue

Bloated feeling after eating

Feeling full after eating little

Acidity

Indigestion

Nausea

Stomach ache

Vomit

Weight Loss

When to see a doctor

If you have signs and symptoms that concern you, make an appointment with your doctor. Your doctor will probably find the most common causes of these signs and symptoms at first.

Causes Of Stomach Cancer

Doctors are not sure what causes stomach cancer. There is a strong correlation between a diet high in smoked foods, salted and pickled foods and stomach cancer. As the use of refrigeration for food preservation has increased throughout the world, stomach cancer rates have declined.

In general, cancer begins an error (mutation) occurs in the DNA of the cell. The mutation causes the cell to grow and divide rapidly, and to continue to live in normal cells would die. Accumulates in tumor cells form a tumor that can invade nearby structures. And the cancer cells can break away from the tumor to spread throughout the body.

Stomach cancers

The cells that make up the type of cancer of stomach cancer. Depending on the type of stomach cancer cells to help determine treatment options. Types of stomach cancer are:

Cancer that begins in glandular cells (adenocarcinomas). The glandular cells that line the inside of the stomach secretes a protective layer of mucus that protects the stomach lining of acidic gastric juice. Adenocarcinoma accounts for the vast majority of all cancers of the stomach.

Cancer that begins in cells of the immune system (lymphomas). The walls of the stomach contains a small number of immune system cells that can develop cancer. Lymphoma of the stomach is rare.

The cancer that begins in cells that produce hormones (carcinoid tumor). The hormone-producing cells can develop into cancer carcinoid. Carcinoid tumor of the stomach is rare.

Cancer that begins in the tissues of the nervous system. A gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) begins in certain nerve cells in the stomach. GIST is a rare type of stomach cancer.

Because other types of stomach cancer are uncommon, when people use the "stomach cancer", a term that generally refers to an adenocarcinoma.

Stomach Cancer Overview

Stomach cancer is cancer that occurs in the stomach - the muscular sac located in the upper middle of your abdomen, just below the ribs. Your stomach gets and keeps the food you eat, and then helps to break down and digest them.

Another word for stomach cancer is gastric cancer. These two concepts are most often referring to stomach cancer that starts in the mucus-producing cells of the lining of the stomach (adenocarcinoma). Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of stomach cancer.

Stomach cancer is rare in the United States, and the number of people diagnosed with the disease each year is decreasing. Stomach cancer is more common in other parts of the world, especially in Japan.