Stomach Cancer
A person has stomach cancer when the stomach's inner lining has cancer cells inside it. Such cells can develop into a tumor. Stomach cancer is also known as gastric cancer and the disease generally grows over a long time involving a number of years.
Causes of Stomach Cancer
No definite cause has yet been found to what makes cancer cells to begin growing in stomach. However, a few factors can increase the disease risk. One of them is a common bacterial infection, H. pylori, that causes ulcers. Gastritis is inflammation in the gut. This, along with longer lasting anemia and polyps in the stomach increase the likelihood of getting cancer.
A few other things also play an important role in raising risk:
A person has stomach cancer when the stomach's inner lining has cancer cells inside it. Such cells can develop into a tumor. Stomach cancer is also known as gastric cancer and the disease generally grows over a long time involving a number of years.
Causes of Stomach Cancer
No definite cause has yet been found to what makes cancer cells to begin growing in stomach. However, a few factors can increase the disease risk. One of them is a common bacterial infection, H. pylori, that causes ulcers. Gastritis is inflammation in the gut. This, along with longer lasting anemia and polyps in the stomach increase the likelihood of getting cancer.
A few other things also play an important role in raising risk:
- Smoking
- Diet rich in salty, smoked or pickled foods
- Type-A blood
- A few particular genes
- Asbestos exposure
- Obesity
- Stomach surgery to cure ulcer
- Infection of the Epstein-Barr virus
- The person works in rubber, coal, timber or metal industries
Symptoms
A person having stomach cancer may suffer from
- Indigestion
- Heartburn
- Loss of appetite
- A bloated feeling after eating a meal
- Slight nausea
With the progression of the disease, there can be more serious symptoms like:
- Stomach pain
- Vomiting
- Trouble in swallowing
- Swelling in stomach
- Feeling tired or weakness
- Blood in stool
- Weight loss without any cause
- Yellowish skin or eyes
- Diarrhea or constipation
- Heartburn
Getting the diagnosis
You will give a physical exam to your doctor. Your doctor will query about your medical history to find out if there is a history of stomach cancer in the family. The physician may ask you to do a series of tests like:
- Blood tests to find cancer signs in the body
- Upper endoscopy tests to look into the stomach
- CT scan to take detailed pictures of your body's innards
- Upper GI series examination where you will drink a liquid containing barium. This liquid will coat your stomach and makes it appear clearly when X-rays are being done
- Biopsy where tissue from your stomach will be examined under a microscope for cancer cell signs
Treatment
There are a number of treatments for stomach cancer. The exact treatment for a particular individual will depend on the time that person had the disease and the extent it had spread inside the body. This is termed stage of cancer. The list of treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, chemoradiation and targeted drugs. A few newer kinds of drugs fight exclusively fight cancer cells.
