What Makes Endoscopy So Effective
Even with an endoscope, it can be difficult to distinguish cancerouslesions from healthy or scarred stomach tissue.
Ngamruengphong explains why: When we perform a screening endoscopy, wedont see a large mass when cancer is present. Instead, we often see verysmall, very subtle lesions.
Doctors with extensive experience using this screening tool can more easilyspot the subtleties of very early stomach cancer. With the help of recentendoscopic technology advances such as high-quality images and dyes,doctors can detect cancer at even earlier stages.
The combination of experienced doctors and sophisticated technologyadvancements means people can get diagnosed and treated earlier. Andthe earlier cancer is treated, the higher the chance of a successfulresult.
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. If the cancer is close to the end of your oesophagus, where it meets your stomach, you may need to have an oesophagogastrectomy.
If you have a total gastrectomy, the end of your gullet will be joined to the top of your jejunum . If you have an oesophagogastrectomy, the remaining part of your gullet will be joined to your jejunum.
Stomach Cancer Diagnosis & Treatment At Moffitt
If youre concerned that you might have stomach cancer, you can entrust your care to the experts at Moffitt Cancer Center. The specialists in our Gastrointestinal Oncology Programwhich include surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, gastroenterologists, rehabilitation therapists and supportive care specialistswork together to diagnose malignancies and develop comprehensive treatment plans.
Contact Moffitt Cancer today to request an appointment. You can call us at or complete a new patient registration form online.
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What Happens At The Gp Appointment
The GP may feel your tummy.
They may ask you to give a poo or pee sample, or have a blood test.
The GP may refer you to see a specialist in hospital for more tests if they think you have a condition that needs to be investigated.
This may be an urgent referral, usually within 2 weeks, if you have certain symptoms. This does not definitely mean you have cancer.
What About Other Treatments I Hear About
You might hear about other ways to treat the cancer or to treat your symptoms. These may not always be standard medical treatments. These treatments may be vitamins, herbs, special diets, and other things.
Some of these are known to help, but many have not been tested. Some have been shown not to help. A few have even been found to be harmful. Talk to your doctor about anything youre thinking about using, whether its a vitamin, a diet, or anything else.
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Is It Stomach Cancer What You Need To Know
Stomach cancer, sometimes called gastric cancer, isnt necessarily what you think of first when experiencing some of the signs and symptoms. Thats why its not always found in the early stages. At what point do you talk to your doctor about whether you should be evaluated for stomach cancer or another gastric condition thats causing you to be uncomfortable? Are you at risk for developing stomach cancer in the future?
How Stomach Cancer Spreads
There are 3 ways stomach cancer can spread:
- directly the cancer can spread from the stomach into nearby tissues and organs, such as the pancreas, colon, small intestine and peritoneum
- through the lymphatic system the lymphatic system is a series of glands located throughout your body, similar to the blood circulatory system the glands produce specialised cells needed by your immune system to fight infection
- through the blood which can cause the cancer to spread from the stomach to other parts of the body, most commonly the liver
Stomach cancer that spreads to another part of the body is known as metastatic stomach cancer.
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Diagnosis Of Stomach Cancer In Cats
When a cat develops gastrointestinal signs, your veterinarian will first perform a comprehensive physical exam.
Your cats overall health will be assessed, including body weight, hydration, mucous membrane color, and your cats mental attitude . Next, your veterinarian will focus on your cats abdomen.
If an obvious cause for your cats gastrointestinal signs is not found on physical exam, your veterinarian will recommend a further workup.
A complete blood panel, including a complete blood cell count and serum biochemistry panel, will often be performed first.
In a cat with stomach cancer, this bloodwork may show signs of anemia , increased white blood cells , and decreased blood protein . If your cats liver is also affected, your veterinarian may also notice increases in one or more of your cats liver values.
Next, your veterinarian will recommend imaging.
Radiographs and ultrasound can both be used to provide a view of what is going on in your cats abdomen. Radiographs are less expensive than ultrasound, but they also show less abdominal detail than an ultrasound.
Ultrasound is more informative, providing a three-dimensional view of all structures in the abdomen, including the lymph nodes, and provides the ability to detect small metastases. However, ultrasound often requires referral to a veterinary specialist, as well as sedation.
In order to definitively diagnose stomach cancer, a cellular diagnosis is needed.
Gastric Cancer Is A Disease In Which Malignant Cells Form In The Lining Of The Stomach
The stomach is a J-shaped organ in the upper abdomen. It is part of the digestive system, which processes nutrients in foods that are eaten and helps pass waste material out of the body. Food moves from the throat to the stomach through a hollow, muscular tube called the esophagus. After leaving the stomach, partly-digested food passes into the small intestine and then into the large intestine.
The wall of the stomach is made up of 5 layers of tissue. From the innermost layer to the outermost layer, the layers of the stomach wall are: mucosa, submucosa, muscle, subserosa , and serosa. Gastric cancer begins in the mucosa and spreads through the outer layers as it grows.
Stromal tumors of the stomach begin in supporting connective tissue and are treated differently from gastric cancer. See the PDQ summary on Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors Treatment for more information.
For more information about cancers of the stomach, see the following PDQ summaries:
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Symptoms Of Stomach Cancer
Most patients with early-stage stomach cancer have no symptoms of the disease. In other cases, stomach cancer patients may mistake their symptoms for a common stomach virus. When the signs and symptoms of stomach cancer are not apparent, the disease may reach advanced stages before a diagnosis is made. Thats why it is important that patients considered high risk talk to their doctors about symptoms that may be signs of a stomach tumor.
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Advanced Stomach Cancer Symptoms
Symptoms of advanced stomach cancer are more serious than symptoms of early stage stomach cancer. Because advanced stage stomach cancer has grown and spread, it can also effect nearby organs including:
- The liver
- The large intestine
If stomach cancer has grown to create a blockage within the stomach or the large intestine, you may experience:
- Loss of appetite
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How Long Can Cats Live With Stomach Cancer
The prognosis for a cat with stomach cancer depends on the type of cancer and how advanced the cancer is at the time of diagnosis. A cat with gastric lymphoma can be expected to survive an average of six months with chemotherapy, although a cat that initially responds favorably to chemotherapy can be expected to survive for over a year, on average.
About Dr Cathy Barnette Dvm
Dr. Barnette is a veterinarian and freelance writer based in Florida. Her 14 years of experience in small animal clinical practice have allowed her to witness firsthand the communication gaps that often exist between pet owners and members of the veterinary team. Her goal is to create engaging content that educates owners, empowering them to make the best possible decisions for their pets. Dr. Barnette has two cats of her own, in addition to a dog and a pet dove.
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Can You Feel A Tumor In Your Stomach
Your provider may be able to feel a mass in your stomach during a physical exam depending on how advanced the cancer is. More often, however, symptoms involve recognizing sensations in your stomach. Your stomach may frequently feel swollen, full or painful. The pain may start as mild and then get more intense as the disease progresses.
When Do Signs And Symptoms First Appear
Typically, cancer signs and symptoms first appear when the cancerous tumor or mass has grown large enough that it begins to push against nearby organs and tissue, blood vessels, and nerves.
This can lead to pain, a change in how the nearby organs function, or both. A brain tumor pressing against the optic nerve will affect vision, for example.
Some cancers are fast moving, such as liver and pancreatic cancers. Prostate cancer, however, is usually slow moving. This is why many older men with prostate cancer forego treatment theyre more likely to die with prostate cancer than because of it.
Screenings for certain cancers should be part of your normal preventive healthcare. These include cancers of the:
- prostate
- cervix
- skin
Your age, sex, family history, and your own medical history will dictate when routine screenings should begin and how often they should be done.
If youre concerned about symptoms associated with various cancers, then you shouldnt hesitate to see your doctor. You can connect to a physician in your area using the Healthline FindCare tool.
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What Are Different Types Of Stomach Cancer
Adenocarcinoma
It is the most common type of stomach cancer. It is found in 90 to 95% of the cases of stomach cancer. Adenocarcinoma is further divided into 2 types.
First one, Intestinal carcinoma are slow to grow and can be cured. It is found in elderly people.
Second one, Diffuse adenocarcinoma is rare and aggressive in nature. So, it spreads fast in the body. It is found in younger people.
Carcinoid tumour
Carcinoid tumors form in hormone producing cells in the stomach. They generally do not spread to other organs and are rare in nature, 3% of total stomach cancers are carcinoid tumors. So, that was all about types of stomach cancer. Now we will see what causes stomach cancer.
Stages
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What Are Stomach Cancer Treatments
Many treatments can fight stomach cancer. The one you and your doctor choose will depend on how long you’ve had the disease or how much it has spread in your body, called the stage of your cancer:
Stage 0. This is when the inside lining of your stomach has a group of unhealthy cells that may turn into cancer. Surgery usually cures it. Your doctor may remove part or all of your stomach, as well as nearby lymph nodes — small organs that are part of your body’s germ-fighting system.
Stage I. At this point, you have a tumor in your stomach’s lining, and it may have spread into your lymph nodes. As with stage 0, you’ll likely have surgery to remove part or all of your stomach and nearby lymph nodes. You might also get chemotherapy or chemoradiation. These treatments can be used before surgery to shrink the tumor and afterward to kill any cancer that’s left.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to attack cancer cells. Chemoradiation is chemo plus radiation therapy, which destroys cancer cells with beams of high energy.
Stage II. Cancer has spread into deeper layers of the stomach and maybe into nearby lymph nodes. Surgery to remove part or all of your stomach, as well as nearby lymph nodes, is still the main treatment. You’re very likely to get chemo or chemoradiation beforehand, and you might get one of them after, too.
You usually have surgery to remove your entire stomach, along with chemo or chemoradiation. This can sometimes cure it. If not, it can at least help with symptoms.
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Blood In Your Stool Or Vomit
While far from a sure sign of stomach cancerboth colitis and Crohns disease can cause bloody stoolblood in either your poop or your vomit demands a visit to a GI doctor.
If the bleeding is related to cancer, the blood in your stool is likely to look maroon or tarry black.
It looks that way because its been acted on by your digestive enzymes. If the blood is in your vomit, its more likely to look bright red, and it may have a coarse coffee grounds texture because it has been partially digested.
While blood in your stool can be a sign of other diseases, they all will need a trip to one of the gastric bypass surgery doctors or bariatric specialist.
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After A Diagnosis Of Stomach Cancer
After being diagnosed with a stomach cancer, you may feel shocked, upset, anxious or confused. These are normal responses. A diagnosis of a stomach or oesophageal cancer affects each person differently. For most it will be a difficult time, however some people manage to continue with their normal daily activities.
You may find it helpful to talk about your treatment options with your doctors, family and friends. Ask questions and seek as much information as you feel you need. It is up to you as to how involved you want to be in making decisions about your treatment.
Learn more about best stomach cancer care:
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Feeling And Being Sick
Stomach cancer can cause a blockage in the stomach. This stops food from passing through your digestive symptom which can make you feel or be sick.
Rarely, there is blood in the vomit. You may not be able to see any blood if it is small amounts. The blood might be bright red, which means it is fresh bleeding. Or it may look dark brown, like used coffee grounds, if the blood has been in the stomach for a while.
Surgery For Stomach Cancer
Surgery is often part of the treatment for stomach cancer if it can be done. There are different kinds of surgery. The type thats best for you depends on how big the cancer is and where it is in the stomach. Surgery might be done for different reasons. If the cancer is small enough, it might be done to try to remove all of it. If the cancer cant be removed, surgery might be done to help prevent or relieve symptoms. Ask your doctor what kind of surgery you will have and what to expect.
Side effects of surgery
Any type of surgery can have risks and side effects, such as bleeding or infections. If part or all of your stomach is removed, it can affect the way you eat. Be sure to ask the doctor what you can expect. If you have problems, let your doctors know. Doctors who treat people with stomach cancer should be able to help you with any problems that come up.
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Surgery To Help Control The Symptoms Of Stomach Cancer
You may need surgery to relieve a blockage in the stomach. This helps food pass through your stomach more easily.
The aim of this surgery is to help improve your symptoms, not to cure the cancer.
Targeted cancer medicines aim to stop the cancer from growing.
You may have them with chemotherapy to treat advanced stomach cancer.
You Dont Really Have An Appetite
Loss of appetite is definitely something to pay attention tosay, if youve always been a foodie and now suddenly youve lost all interest in eatingand its a good idea to get checked out by a GI doctor, says Ocean.
Ulcers, however, can also cause a loss of appetite , but ulcers are also a risk factor for stomach cancer, so its smart to get checked out regardless.
4. You have awful heartburn.
Heartburn is kind of complicated, says Ocean, in that it can both be a sign of cancer and also a risk factor for it. People with heartburn may have a peptic ulcer, which means they have more acid in their stomachs, which puts them at a higher risk for stomach cancer, says Ocean.
Heartburn can manifest as the telltale burning sensation, nausea, or even chest pain, so its not always easy to self-diagnose. If youve been popping antacids for weeks on the regular, get yourself checked out.
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How Is Gerd Treated
GERD is managed with lifestyle modifications such as avoiding late-night noshing, eating big meals, or lying down immediately after meals, Dr. Alexander says. You also treat it with medications to block acid, he adds. Antacids are a short-term way to bind things up and H2- blockers work to prevent acid secretion for 8 to 12 hours. Proton-pump inhibitors are the strongest acid-blocking drugs. We can also do esophageal-reflux surgery where we wrap some muscle around the bottom of the esophagus and the top of the stomach to make a new valve.
When To Call Your Doctor
If your symptoms persist, dont hesitate to see your doctor.
Your doctor will do a comprehensive evaluation and ask about your family history to determine whether further investigation is required, says Dr. Joyce.
If more testing is needed, there are a few options available:
- An upper endoscopy. A thin tube with a tiny camera attached is inserted through your mouth and into your stomach. A biopsy, or sample of tissue, of any areas in question will be taken.
- Endoscopic ultrasound. A thin tube with an ultrasound probe is placed in your stomach through your mouth. By getting a visual of your stomach, your doctor can help determine the stage of your cancer.
- CT scan or MRI. If the tumor is large enough, these radiologic tests will detect it.
To treat stomach cancer, your doctor may recommend chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation. Surgery is an option, but your doctor may opt for other routes first. Some very early gastric cancers can be treated endoscopically , too, but thats a rare situation in the U.S.
Theres significant potential for spread of cancer to other areas, says Dr. Joyce. So, we often recommend chemotherapy before proceeding with a surgery.
Are there ways to lower your risk?
But dont panic if your gastrointestinal system seems to be acting weird.
Most of the time, GI symptoms are not from stomach cancer they have benign causes, assures Dr. Joyce. Our gastrointestinal systems are quite fickle sometimes.
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