Stomach Cancer Prognosis

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Gastric cancer or also familiar known as stomach cancer is a kind of cancer in the stomach (as well as the name suggests). It is usually a malignant tumor growing or arising from the stomach’s lining. And because this disease usually has few symptoms (particularly in the early stages), people who have this disease usually see their doctor to consult their symptoms in the advanced stages. This condition is one of factors that can be a big challenge for stomach cancer prognosis.

You may also like to know how can you get stomach cancer, before continuing!

Although gastric cancer is popular enough in other areas of the world (like in Japan), but fortunately this disease is not too popular in the U.S. The patients who have gastric cancer in the U.S are declining for every year. According to the American Cancer Society, the number of individuals with this disease has significantly declined in the last 60 years.

Generally, the types of tissue where they come from are usually used to classify the stomach cancers. Adenocarcinoma is the most common type of gastric cancer, which usually begins in the stomach’s glandular tissue. Adenocarcinoma takes about 90-95 percent of all gastric cancer cancers. Other forms of gastric cancer are sarcomas and lymphomas.

Stomach cancer diagnosis

The doctors usually need to do a physical exam to catch and find the existing advanced gastric cancer. Some screening tests usually will be recommend by doctors if the patients notice vague symptoms, like loss of appetite, weigh loss (without unknown causes or reasons), nausea, and indigestion.

You might also like to read about symptoms of stomach cancer!

And some tests that are involved to make a diagnosis of stomach cancer may include:

1. Upper GI series, which are usually a kind of X-rays to examine stomach, esophagus, and first part of intestine. Before doing these tests, patient usually will be asked to drink a barium solution.
2. Another test may include a test that uses a gastroscope (it is a thin-lighted tube) to examine the stomach and esophagus. A gastroscope is usually passed through the patient’s mouth to the patient’s stomach, so thus the doctor will be able to clearly examine the patient’s esophagus & stomach.

Once the diagnosis is made, then patients may also need to get more tests to examine how far the cancer has spread!

Stomach cancer prognosis

In fact, gastric cancer is  difficult to be treated, especially when it is found at advanced stages. But if it can be found early before it get worse or has spread in the advanced stages, the success rate of the treatment and survival rate for patient is better.

Unfortunately (as mentioned before), there are usually few symptoms in the early stages of gastric cancers. And that’s why doctors usually make a diagnosis of this disease at later stage!

Nevertheless, if you have stomach cancer at advanced stage, there is still a chance to cure the disease and the symptoms can be relieved.

Treatments

Some common ways of treatment (can be in alone option or in combination option) that may be chosen by doctor include:

1. Gastrectomy! It is a kind of surgery that is usually needed to remove certain parts or all of stomach (depending how far the cancers have spread).
2. Chemotherapy.
3. And a kind of treatment with radiation - or radiation therapy.

Note: for more detailed information and advices about stomach cancer prognosis, diagnosis and treatments -- talk and discuss more with a doctor!
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Reference: WebMD