Stomach Cancer

Stomach Cancer – General Information

Stomach Cancer is one of the most common diseases that cause death all over the world, especially regarding gastrointestinal disorders. There are two major factors that lead to the appearance of this medical condition and can include infection with Helicobacter pylori bacteria and diet. In most cases, when a patient develops this cancer he/she has a diet rich in salt, spicy foods and smokes a lot. This kind of medical condition can be treated only if it is discovered in an early stage of development; unfortunately, as the disease progresses, the first signs and symptoms begin to appear, and if it is not treated properly, it can affect the surrounding tissues and organs.

It is very important to know that with only with few changes in the lifestyle, a person can reduce the risk of developing the cancer. An infection with Helicobacter pylori does not always cause Stomach Cancer, but if it is not discovered and not treated properly, the patient is susceptible to develop it. There are also other genetic factors that play an important role in developing this kind of cancer. There are many other risk factors that can cause Stomach Cancer and can include the patient’s sex (because men have a doubled risk to develop it than women), the patient’s age (because he is more susceptible to develop it after 50 years old), and a previous stomach surgery, especially if the patient had a part of stomach or intestine removed.

Stomach Cancer – Symptoms

Stomach Cancer – Treatment

In most cases, the treatment for Stomach Cancer is different depending on certain factors such as the cancer’s location, the stage of evolution, and the patient’s overall health status. There are cases when the doctor may change the treatment due to patient’s preferences. It is very important to choose the proper treatment and to evaluate the choices especially if the condition reached a severe stage. Usually, the goal of the treatment is to eliminate the cancer completely, but when this goal can not be achieved, the treatment focuses on preventing it to grow, causing damage to other organs. In these cases, it is said that applying a palliative care is the best way of controlling and dealing with the disease. Palliative care is a treatment that acts by slowing the disease progression, and relieving the signs and symptoms as much as possible.

In treating Stomach Cancer, the most common treatment options can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and antibiotic treatment. The most common treatment option that can be successfully applied to remove completely the tumor is surgery. Depending on the part and spreading of the cancer, the surgeon can remove a part of the patient’s stomach, performing a subtotal or partial gastrectomy, or all of the patient’s stomach, performing a total gastrectomy. In most cases, when the patient suffers a total removal of the stomach, the doctor also removes the surrounding affected tissue. If the disease progressed and affected the patient’s lymph nodes, they are also removed during the surgery. When the patient is suffering a subtotal surgery, the remaining part of the stomach is attached to the patient’s esophagus on one side, and to the small intestine, on the other side. If Stomach Cancer is discovered in an early stage of evolution, the doctor can remove the entire tumor, leading to a complete recovery. The bad part is that the disease can not be always discovered until the cancer starts to cause signs and symptoms, and when this happens, the cancer reached an advanced stage, causing damage to the surrounding tissues and organs.

The second treatment option for Stomach Cancer is chemotherapy, which has the goal of killing the cancer cells. In most cases, the medication can be administrated orally or intravenously. This kind of treatment option can also be applied after the surgical procedure. There are cases in which the doctor can apply the treatment option to control the tumor’s growth and to relieve the signs and symptoms. Some of the main drugs used during chemo are: Fluorouracil, Doxorubicin (prescribed as Adriamycin), Carmustine, Taxotere, Mitomycin T, Semustine (Methyl-CCNU) etc. Another way to treat Stomach Cancer is radiation therapy or radiotherapy. This kind of treatment option consists in a high energy X-ray used to kill the cancerous cells. Radiation therapy is more useful because it affects only the affected part of the patient’s body, unlike chemotherapy which affects all the body. It is very important to treat the disease properly because by doing this the doctor can prevent the disease to progress.