Stomach cancer or CA gastric is a build-up of the abnormal cells which form a mass in a part of the stomach. It can develop in any of the area of the stomach.
This is the 6thmost common cancer disease worldwide and ranks third in terms of cancer related deaths globally. Approximately 90-95% of all CA stomach are adenocarcinomas. In this disease, cancer develops from the cells formed in the mucosa, this is lining of the stomach which produces mucus.
In this article, We will learn about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of stomach cancer.
Symptoms of Stomach Cancer;
Stomach cancer may cause a number of symptoms. However, most of these symptoms may not appear in the early stage of the disease.
And because of this, many people having stomach cancer do not a diagnosed until the disease is already in the advanced stage.
Early symptoms of this disease may include the following:
- Feeling of full during meals
- Difficulty in swallowing
- Feeling bloated especially after meals
- Burning sensation in heart
- Problems of indigestion
- Stomach pain
- Pain in bone of the breast
- Vomiting with blood
Many of the above symptoms are very similar to other conditions which are less serious. Anyone who experiences swallowing difficulties should immediately meet a expert for further assessment.
Diagnosis of Stomach cancer:
A person with persistent symptoms of CA Stomach must visit a doctor as soon as possible.
The doctor will discuss about the symptoms like family history, medical history and lifestyle choices etc. Doctor will also do a physical examination to check stomach.
Doctor may request for some blood tests to identify if there is an excess of some certain substances that indicate the presence of cancer.
Below Mentioned Are Some Of The Investigations Done In Order To Find Out Presence Of Stomach Cancer:
Upper Endoscopy; The Expert uses an endoscope in this test to look inside the stomach. Mainly they examine esophagus, stomach and duodenum. If the specialist suspects presence of cancer, team may do a biopsy to collect tissue samples which will be sent to laboratory for analysis.
CT Scan; This produces detailed and multi angled images of regions inside the body.
Barium Swallow; A person swallows a liquid which has barium that lines the esophagus and the stomach. This helps to identify anomalies of the stomach during an X-ray.
Treatment of Stomach Cancer;
The medical treatment for stomach cancer depends on a number of factors including the severity of the disease and the patient’s overall health.
Treatments may include a surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, targeted medication and Immunotherapy etc.
Surgery– A surgeon performs surgery to remove cancerous cells from the stomach ensuring that cancel cells are not left behind leading to recurrence.
Some Of the Procedures Are Mentioned Below;
Endoscopic mucosal resection: In this procedure a surgeon uses endoscopy to remove small tumors from mucosal layer, this is done for early-stage disease.
Subtotal gastrectomy: In this procedure, partial stomach removal is done.
Total gastrectomy: Complete stomach is removed in this procedure.
Abdominal surgeries are complex ones and they may require a long period of recovery time.
Radiation Therapy;
In radiation therapy treatment, a radiation oncologist uses radioactive rays to kill cancerous cells of the affected area.
Radiation therapy is not done commonly in CA Stomach treatment as the risk of harming other nearby organs in high.
Chemotherapy;
Chemotherapy is a specialized treatment that uses medications to stop quickly growing cancer cells from further dividing &multiplying. Chemotherapy is a primary treatment for CA stomach that has spread to distant organs and sites in the body.
Targeted Medications;
Targeted therapy identifies and attacks the specific proteins which cancer cells produce.
Immunotherapy;
This is a treatment method which uses medicines to encourage the immune cells to attack cancerous cells.
