I Was Determined To Guide My Own Cancer Destiny
From the moment I started researching I was shocked by what I found out.Common treatments for breast cancer, colon cancer, bowel cancer and skin cancer all put your survival rates close to zero once the cancer has metastasized. For years Id assumed that big pharma was making progress, but I saw that any cocktail of drugs that added a couple of months to your life while depriving you of your energy, vitality and mental health was deemed a miracle breakthrough.I knew that the approach I wanted to take to my future had to be so much different.
I decided to write down what I wanted to find:
- Natural Treatments for cancer proven by medical experts
- FDA-Approved Drugs with side effects I could understand
- Proven Results so I knew what my odds really were at every stage
- TruePositivity because I wanted to feel like I was in control
Side Effects Of Stomach Cancer Treatments
All cancer treatments can have side effects. Your treatment team will discuss these with you before you start treatment. Talk to your doctor or nurse about any side effects you are experiencing.
Some side effects can be upsetting and difficult, but there is help if you need it. Call Cancer Council Victoria Tel. or email to speak with a caring cancer nurse for support.
Very Early Stage Cancers
These cancers are still only in the inner lining layer of the stomach and have not grown into deeper layers of the stomach wall.
Very early stage cancers can typically be treated by surgery, with either subtotal gastrectomy or total gastrectomy . Nearby lymph nodes are removed as well.
Some small stage 0 cancers can be treated by endoscopic resection. In this procedure the cancer and some layers of the stomach wall are removed through an endoscope passed down the throat. This procedure is done more often in countries like Japan, where stomach cancer is often detected early during screening. It is rare to find stomach cancer so early in the United States, so this treatment has not been used as often here. If it is done, it should be at a cancer center that has experience with this technique.
If the results of surgery show that all of the cancer has been removed, the person can usually be followed closely, without needing any further treatment. If its not clear that all of the cancer has been removed, chemotherapy and radiation are likely to be recommended. Another option might be a more extensive surgery to remove the cancer.
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Having A Feeding Tube
Some people with stomach cancer will have a feeding tube before treatment to help them maintain their weight and build up their strength. Other people will have a feeding tube after surgery until they are able to eat and drink normally.
Many people find that having a feeding tube makes eating easier and less uncomfortable. A feeding tube can be placed into your small bowel either through a nostril or with an operation that places a tube through the skin of your abdomen.
Your treatment team will show you how to care for the tube. It will be removed when it is no longer required. Having a feeding tube is a major change and its common to have a lot of questions. For information, talk to a dietitian or nurse. A counsellor or psychologist can provide emotional support and coping strategies.
Eliminate Foods Contaminated With Aflatoxin
Carcinogenic substances can occur in foods when certain types of fungus grow on food producing toxins during processing, storage, or transport. These toxins include aflatoxin, a highly carcinogenic substance that causes DNA damage. A prolonged exposure to aflatoxin will result in an increased number of DNA mutations and thus increase the risk of cells becoming cancerous.Peanuts appear to be particularly susceptible to aflatoxin contamination, but also many other types of foods including whole grains, legumes, nuts, and spices are vulnerable to Aspergillus flavus, the fungus responsible for producing aflatoxins. Aflatoxin is stable and resistant to cooking and freezing, but you can greatly reduce your risk of exposure to this poison by carefully selecting your foods:
- Select fresh seeds, nuts, legumes, and grains
- Look for signs of proper storage and avoid foods from countries that have substandard storage requirements
- Discard nuts that taste stale or look suspicious
- Eat green vegetables that are rich in chlorophyll to further reduce the risk of harmful impacts of aflatoxins chlorophyll has been shown to reduce aflatoxins levels
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Limit Beverages During Meals
“Beverages should be sipped during a meal with the goal to drink most liquids between meals, not during. This will prevent patients from getting too full, leaving more room for nutritious foods,” Guterman says.
She also adds that protein shakes or milkshakes can be sipped throughout the day to both stay hydrated and meet nutritional needs.
Stomach Cancer Symptoms And Risks
We dont know the exact cause of stomach cancer, but we do know that certain things increase your risk of getting it. By changing or adjusting your lifestyle, you may be able to reduce your risks.
Stomach cancer risk factors
You are more likely to get stomach cancer if you:
- Are overweight or obese
- Drink alcohol
- Eat a diet rich in smoked foods, salted fish or seafood caught in the ocean, salted meat and pickled vegetables
- Have a history of Helicobacter pylori or other bacterial infections of the stomach
- Have had previous stomach surgery
A diet rich in whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables may lower your risk of stomach cancer prognosis.
Stomach cancer symptoms
Common symptoms and signs of stomach cancer include:
- A sense of fullness in the upper abdomen, just below the chest bone after eating a small amount of food
- Abdominal pain or vague discomfort
- Heartburn or indigestion
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Types Of Stomach Cancer
The most common type of stomach cancer is adenocarcinoma of the stomach . This cancer starts in the glandular tissue found on the stomachs inner surface.
Other less common types of cancer can affect the stomach including small cell carcinomas, lymphomas, neuroendocrine tumours and gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Your doctor will be able to explain more about these types of stomach cancer.
Total Gastrectomy Or Oesophagogastrectomy
If your cancer is in the middle or at the top of your stomach, you may need to have a total gastrectomy to remove the whole of your stomach. If the cancer is close to the end of your oesophagus , where it meets your stomach, you may need to have an oesophagogastrectomy to remove part of your gullet.
If you have a total gastrectomy, your stomach will be removed, and the end of your gullet will be joined to the top of your jejunum . If you have an oesophagogastrectomy, your stomach and the end of your gullet will be removed, and the remaining part of your gullet will be joined to your jejunum.
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Considering Complementary And Alternative Methods
You may hear about alternative or complementary methods that your doctor hasnt mentioned to treat your cancer or relieve symptoms. These methods can include vitamins, herbs, and special diets, or other methods such as acupuncture or massage, to name a few.
Complementary methods refer to treatments that are used along with your regular medical care. Alternative treatments are used instead of a doctors medical treatment. Although some of these methods might be helpful in relieving symptoms or helping you feel better, many have not been proven to work. Some might even be harmful.
Be sure to talk to your cancer care team about any method you are thinking about using. They can help you learn what is known about the method, which can help you make an informed decision.
Will I Get Side
The type of side-effects you might get will depend on the type of treatment, the dose, the duration and your own general health. Eating problems are common. You may also feel very tired or you may have pain after surgery.
Your specialist nurse will discuss possible side-effects with you before your treatment. You can also read about the different treatments to find out about possible side-effects.
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Help Getting Through Cancer Treatment
People with cancer need support and information, no matter what stage of illness they may be in. Knowing all of your options and finding the resources you need will help you make informed decisions about your care.
Whether you are thinking about treatment, getting treatment, or not being treated at all, you can still get supportive care to help with pain or other symptoms. Communicating with your cancer care team is important so you understand your diagnosis, what treatment is recommended, and ways to maintain or improve your quality of life.
Different types of programs and support services may be helpful, and can be an important part of your care. These might include nursing or social work services, financial aid, nutritional advice, rehab, or spiritual help.
The American Cancer Society also has programs and services including rides to treatment, lodging, and more to help you get through treatment. Call our National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-227-2345 and speak with one of our trained specialists.
Survival For All Stages Of Stomach Cancer
For people with stomach cancer in England:
- more than 45 out of 100 people will survive their cancer for 1 year or more
- more than 20 out of 100 people will survive their cancer for 5 years or more
- more than 15 out of 100 people will survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Cancer survival by stage at diagnosis for England, 2019Office for National Statistics
These statistics are for net survival. Net survival estimates the number of people who survive their cancer rather than calculating the number of people diagnosed with cancer who are still alive. In other words, it is the survival of cancer patients after taking into account that some people would have died from other causes if they had not had cancer.
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Who Gets Stomach Cancer
An estimated 26,380 people are expected to be diagnosed with stomach cancer in the U.S. in 2022. The number of new cases per 100,000 people in the U.S. has steadily declined in recent decades.
Doctors dont know what causes stomach cancer, but they have identified risk factors that include:
- Gender: Men are more likely to develop stomach cancer.
- Race and ethnicity: In the U.S., the disease is more common among Latinos, Asian/Pacific Islanders and Black people than in white people.
- Age: Stomach cancer rates increase sharply in people older than 50.
- Bacterial infection:H. pylori, a type of bacterial infection of the stomachs inner lining, can lead to inflammation and ulcers. It is found in most stomach cancer patients.
- Diet: Diets high in salted, pickled, fermented, smoked and preserved foods, including processed meats, can increase risk. Diets low in fresh fruit and vegetables also increase risk.
- Family history: Having a parent, sibling or child with stomach cancer increases risk.
- Genetic syndromes: Several inherited genetic defects increase the risk. OHSU offers genetic counseling, testing and risk assessment to help patients identify and manage risk.
Adjuvant Or Neoadjuvant Therapy
Patients with localized node negative gastric cancer have 5-year survival rates that approach 75% when treated with surgery alone.79 This is in contrast to patients with lymph node involvement, in whom survival rates range from 10% to 30%.9 The outcome of gastric cancer is complicated by a high incidence of local recurrence and distant metastases after curative surgery and has prompted interest in adjuvant therapies in the hope of improving treatment outcome.58 Studies of adjuvant and neoadjuvant therapy in the treatment of gastric cancer have produced conflicting results. The inconsistency may be a reflection of the differences between populations studied ,80 pathologic classification,81 extent of surgical procedure 68 as well as differences in the content and timing of adjuvant therapy . Several metaanalyses8288 have been published in attempt to address discrepancies reported in the literature, the findings of which are summarized in Table 3.
TABLE 3. Meta-analyses of Randomized Clinical Trials of Adjuvant Chemotherapy
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Prognosis And Survival Rates Of Stomach Cancer
When someone is diagnosed with stomach cancer, their doctor will give them a prognosis. A prognosis is the doctors opinion of how likely it is that the cancer will spread and the chances of getting better. A prognosis depends on the type and stage of cancer, as well as the persons age and general health.
Generally, the earlier stomach cancer is diagnosed the better the chances of successful treatment. If the cancer is found after it has spread from the stomach, the prognosis is not usually as good.
If you have stomach cancer, your doctor will talk to you about your individual situation when working out your prognosis. Every persons experience is different, and there is support available to you.
Maintain A Healthy Weight
If you have stomach cancer, you may experience loss of appetite, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. This may be due to cancer medications such as chemotherapy or because of stomach cancer surgery â you may not be able to eat large meals and may feel full after just a few bites.
You may also have difficulty digesting fats and proteins or food may leave your stomach too quickly, a condition called dumping syndrome. These factors can make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight. This is why the Canadian Cancer Society says it’s important to make every bite count.
“The best foods for people with a diagnosis of stomach cancer are going to be those which the person tolerates best. Generally, small, frequent meals are the best eating pattern â people should aim to consume about six mini meals a day,” says Rebecca Guterman, RD, CDN, who works at the Tisch Cancer Institute with Mount Sinai Hospital.
Overall, patients should eat a high-protein diet that is low in carbohydrates and sugary foods, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
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Why Radiation Therapy Is Used To Treat Stomach Cancer
- Targeted radiation can shrink tumors and destroy cancer cells in nearby lymph nodes, reducing the likelihood that the cancer will spread.
- Radiation therapy can shrink a tumor so that partial or full removal becomes possible.
- Radiation therapy after surgery can kill microscopic remnants of the cancer that are too small to be detected and removed in follow-up surgeries.
- As with chemotherapy and surgery, radiation can also be used for symptom relief by easing stomach pain, reducing or stopping internal bleeding and helping you regain your appetite.
Stage Iiia Iiib And Iiic
Stage IIIA tumors have four possible conditions.
They may have:
- Spread to the muscle wall and seven to 15 nearby lymph nodes, or
- Spread to the subserosa and three to six lymph nodes, or
- Spread to the serosa and one to six nearby lymph nodes, or
- Spread to nearby organs including liver, colon, spleen, pancreas abdominal wall, adrenal glands, small intestine, back of the abdomen or kidney.
Stage IIIB tumors have three possible conditions.
They may have:
- Spread to the submucosa or muscle layer and to 16 or more nearby lymph nodes, or
- Spread to the subserosa or serosa and seven to 15 lymph nodes, or
- Spread out of the stomach to nearby organs and to one to six nearby lymph nodes.
Stage IIIC tumors have two possible conditions.
They may have:
- Spread to the subserosa or serosa and 16 or more nearby lymph nodes, or
- Spread from the stomach to nearby organs and seven or more nearby lymph nodes.
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Total Versus Subtotal Versus Proximal Gastrectomy
Choice of surgical procedure in resectable gastric cancer is dictated by size, location, and ability to achieve surgical margins free of gross and microscopic disease. Several European studies have shown that to achieve adequate margins clear of disease, there must be a 5-cm distance from the tumor to the closest resection line in intestinal-type and 10-cm margins in diffuse-type tumors.39,4749
In general, tumors confined to the proximal third of the stomach are treated with total gastrectomy to ensure adequate resection margins. It is controversial whether proximal gastrectomy is associated with poor functional outcome of the distal gastric remnant compared with a total gastrectomy with reconstruction. Although there are few studies to address this issue, Harrison et al,50 in a retrospective review, demonstrated that patients with proximal gastric cancer who underwent total gastrectomy or proximal gastrectomy had similar overall survival times and recurrence rates. This study suggested both procedures could be accomplished safely. The authors suggest, although the 2 procedures are equivalent from a survival and recurrence perspective, further studies are necessary to assess nutrition and quality of life. Studies have demonstrated improved quality of life in the subtotal gastrectomy over the total gastrectomy group5153 however, only 1 study53 specifically demonstrated a reduced quality of life of proximal gastrectomy over total and distal subtotal resections.
Stomach Cancer: Symptoms Causes Risk Factors And Treatment
Erika Goldring/WireImage
- Stomach cancer grows on the inner lining of the stomach and is known as the 15th most common type of cancer.
- Symptoms dont usually develop until the cancer is in an advanced stage.
- Age, gender, diet, and a previous stomach surgery can increase your risk.
- Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, and immunotherapy are possible treatment options but ultimately, your doctor will determine the best treatment for you.
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a type of cancer that grows on the inner lining of the stomach. According to the National Cancer Institute, its the 15th most common type of cancer, accounting for 26,560 new cases in 2021.
We are here to help you learn more about stomach cancer, including its common symptoms, causes, risk factors, and treatment options. With more information, youll be able to navigate more easily through your or your loved ones diagnosis.
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