Stomach Cancer

Cancer is the out-of-control growth of cells in your body. Cells are the tiny building blocks of your body. Different organs are made of different kinds of cells that specialize in what they do. Almost any kind of cell can become cancerous. 

The Stomach

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Stomach cancer is cancer that starts in your stomach.

• Symptoms of stomach cancer include discomfort in your belly, weight loss, and weakness

• Stomach cancer spreads easily to other parts of your body and is often fatal

• Doctors treat stomach cancer with surgery

Causes include:

• An infection in your stomach with the bacteria called H. pylori

• Genetics (something you inherit from one or both parents)

Early symptoms are mild and you may not notice them. They include:

• Burning belly pain

• Fullness after a small meal

Later symptoms may include:

• Weight loss or weakness

• Anemia (low number of red blood cells)

• Light-headedness

• Throwing up blood or passing black tarry stool

Spreading cancer may cause symptoms such as:

• Jaundice (yellow-colored skin and a yellow color to the white parts of your eyes)

• Fluid build-up and swelling in your belly

• Swollen lymph nodes

• Weak bones, leading to bone fractures

Doctors look for stomach cancer with:

• Endoscopy (a flexible viewing tube is passed through your throat to look in your stomach and take samples for testing)

If endoscopy and biopsy tests shows stomach cancer, doctors usually do:

• CT (computed tomography) scan and ultrasound of the abdomen to check if it has spread to other organs

• Blood tests

Doctors treat stomach cancer that hasn’t spread with:

• Surgery

Removing the whole tumor before it spreads is the only chance for a cure. For stomach cancer that has spread, treatment can’t cure the disease. Doctors may treat symptoms and make the person feel more comfortable with:

• Surgery

• Chemotherapy and radiation therapy