Stomach cancer

Stomach cancer is a malignant tumor of the stomach – a muscular pouch located in the upper middle part of the abdominal cavity, just behind the ribs. From the esophagus, the food enters the stomach, where it is retained and, with the help of gastric juices and acids, turns into a homogeneous mixture.

Another term that is often used for the disease isgastric carcinoma.

Both terms are used to refer to the condition where a malignant tumor begins to form in the mucus-producing cells in the lining of the stomach (adenocarcinoma). This variety of the diseaseis the most common.

The clinical condition is rare and in both Europe and the US the number of diagnosed cases is decreasing each year.

What are the symptoms?

• Feeling tired;
• Feeling bloated after eating;
• Feeling full after consuming small amounts of food;
• Stomach acids that are strong and prolonged;
• Constant vomiting;
• Unexplained weight loss;
• Indigestion that is very severe;

When should we seek medical attention?

If you notice any signs or feel something that worries you, make an appointment with your doctor, who will most likely examine you and order tests to be possibly ruled out or confirmed other possible reasons for your concerns.

What are the causes?

Doctors do not know what exactly causes this type of cancer. But a strong correlation was found between a diet consisting of a lot of pickled, salted and smoked foods.

But as the use of refrigerators is used in many more places around the world for food storage, the incidence of the disease has decreased significantly.

Basically, the development of the malignant formation begins with an error /mutation/ in the DNA of the cell. This change in the cell’s genetic code stimulates it to grow and divide at a faster rate and to live longer than a normal cell.

Accumulating cancer cells form a malignant tumor that can invade surrounding structures. And cancer cells can leave the tumor through the lymph and blood stream and enter other organs, where they can continue to multiply and divide.

Stomach cancer treatment

The method of treatment is determined depending on the stage of the tumor, the general state of health and the preferences of the patient.

Surgery

The aim of the operation is to remove all the malignant tumor mass from the stomach and leave only healthy tissue if possible. The possibilities for this are:

• Removal of tumors from the stomach lining at an early stage. When the cancer is limited to the lining of the stomach, it can be removed using an endoscope in a procedure called endoscopic mucosal resection.
• Removal of part of the stomach – subtotal gastrectomy – only part of the stomach affected by the cancer is removed .
• Removal of the entire stomach – total gastrectomy – the entire stomach and part of the surrounding tissues are removed.

The esophagus then connects directly to the small intestine to ensure the movement of food through the digestive system.

• Surgery to relieve signs and symptoms – removing part of the stomach can improve the patient’s condition to some extent when the cancer is in a very advanced stage. In this case, surgery cannot cure the disease, but it would at least alleviate the pain and suffering of the cancer patient.

Radiation therapy

High-energy ionizing radiation is directed at the malignancy to kill the cancer cells, it can be given pre-operatively to shrink the tumor and make it easier to remove, or post-operatively to kill any remaining malignant cells after it has been removed .

Prevention

The cause of this type of cancer is unknown, so there is no way to prevent it. But you can at least reduce the risk by:

• Consume more fruits and vegetables;
• Reduce the amount of salty and smoked foods in your menu to protect your stomach;
• Stop smoking;