Stomach is a body organ that is responsible for breaking down the food into semi-solid state. The glands within the stomach produce several chemicals/enzymes that help in the digestion of the food. Formation of cancerous tissue within the stomach is known as stomach cancer.
Types of stomach cancer
There are a few different types of stomach cancers. However, the most well known stomach cancer is the one that occurs in the glandular cells of the stomach. This type of stomach cancer is also known as adenocarcinomas. Then there are other types of stomach cancer (based on the cells that are affected by cancer).
Causes of stomach cancer
There is a lot of research going on for ascertaining the exact causes of the stomach cancer. As of now, stomach cancer is known to happen more in older people i.e. people above 60 years of age. Some theories also suggest that certain conditions of stomach (including some types of stomach infections) could also increase the risk of stomach cancer. There are also suggestions of stomach cancer being linked to genes.
Symptoms of stomach cancer
The currently known symptoms of stomach cancer cannot really point to stomach cancer. As you would have imagined, the stomach cancer symptoms include things like indigestion, nausea, pain, tiredness etc. In case you feel that you are displaying some or all symptoms, you should consult a qualified doctor and get a check-up done. This can help in not only allaying your fears of stomach cancer but also help in early detection of stomach cancer (and thus facilitate treatment of stomach cancer).
Diagnosis of stomach cancer
You should make a note of and narrate the symptoms to the doctor as best as you can. This can really be helpful to the doctor doing the diagnosis. The diagnosis of stomach cancer will generally start with blood test and stool test. Endoscopy could be the next test in line for stomach cancer. In fact, endoscopy is quite effective in detecting stomach cancer. The cells collected from stomach are taken up for biopsy for further ascertaining the presence of stomach cancer. Couples of other stomach cancer detection techniques are used too but endoscopy seems to be the most common one.
Treatment of stomach cancer
Like most other cancer types, stomach cancer treatment is also carried out mostly through surgery. However, chemotherapy could also form part of your treatment. Depending on the need, the doctor might also advise radiotherapy for treatment of stomach cancer
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