Understanding the critical need for awareness of stomach cancer, No Stomach For Cancer (NSFC) was determined to have a month designated for awareness of this disease. 2010 was the first year to celebrate NSFC in November. By 2012, people throughout the world were looking for an event to join in their area. In response, the organization behind the campaign held the 1st annual No Stomach For Cancer Walk, a global walk to raise awareness about Stomach cancer symptoms and more.
The stomach is part of the digestive system. Cells in the stomach sometimes change and no longer grow or behave normally. These changes may lead to non-cancerous, or benign, tumours such as gastric polyps, small gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) or lipomas. In some cases, changes to stomach cells can cause cancer. Most often, cancer starts in gland cells in the inner layer of the stomach wall, which is called the gastric mucosa. This type of cancer is called adenocarcinoma of the stomach. It makes up about 95% of all stomach cancers.
Possible Causes
Symptoms
When stomach or gastric cancer occurs, it’s often not caught until it’s dangerously advanced. Unlike breast cancer or colon cancer, there’s no routine screening for Stomach cancer symptoms. People can overlook or dismiss subtle Stomach cancer symptoms and delay seeing a doctor due to some common misconception about the disease.
Symptoms of stomach cancer manifest as stomach pain, nausea, the inability to eat typical amounts of food, persistent vomiting, severe and continual heartburn, uncontrollable weight loss and extreme indigestion. If any of these symptoms occur without relief for a prolonged period of time, medical intervention is essential.
People who eat a lot of foods that are pickled, salted or smoked seem to be at a higher risk for contracting these Stomach cancer symptoms. Apparently, the disease was more common before the use of refrigerators became widespread.
Also Read: 5 Instant Home Remedies For Gastric Problem
Treatment
Surgery is the only effective curative method in the management of stomach cancer. Even in certain patients with advanced stomach cancer, surgery is performed to decrease complications of the cancer such as blockage of the stomach or bleeding from the cancer.
Radiotherapy is useful for relieving stomach obstruction in patients with highly developed stomach cancer. Radiotherapy may also be used to stop bleeding from cancers that cannot be operated on. It is given over 5 minutes every day for 2 to 5 weeks. There may be temporary loss of appetite, nausea, and pain in the radiated site.
Chemotherapy is sometimes used to reduce symptoms from an advanced cancer or to prolong the time to the growth of the cancer. Many chemotherapy drugs are accessible, most of them with side effects such as temporary nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and lowering of the white blood counts. Alternatively, clinical trials with novel drugs are usually available as an option for patients.
To know more about cancer, read more: Are you cancer aware?
Bone cancer is caused when cells start dividing constantly and begin to grow out of control in the bones. It is basically a tumour that destroys normal bone tissue. Cells in the bones can become cancerous and spread to any other part of the body. Know the basic Facts about Bone Cancer to understand it better. They are broadly classified into two types of cancer.
Benign (non-cancerous): The benign bone tumour is more common and it compresses the healthy bone tissue in the affected area. The benign tumours are said to be less harmful as compared to the malignant tumours because they don’t spread to other parts of the body.
Malignant (cancerous): Malignant tumour that spreads to the bone tissues is called primary bone cancer. The case when cancer spreads from other organs like lungs, breast or prostate to the bones is called metastatic cancer. Metastatic cancer is relatively common in comparison to primary bone cancer and harmful, in most cases fatal.
The exact cause of bone cancer has not been defined but researchers/doctors have identified many factors that could increase the chances of getting cancer. One of the most important facts about Bone Cancer is that it is difficult to determine if an individual has cancer unless they go for an extensive comprehensive exam involving physical tests, biopsy and blood tests along with a varied number of tests. Most common symptoms that could indicate bone cancer are:
Persistent bone pain that gets worse over time and continues into the night should always be considered as bone cancer unless ruled out. Please consult your orthopedician for the above symptoms. Many a times bone cancer can also be non painful.
Dr. M.G. Kartheeka, MBBS, MD
Other symptoms include tingling in fingers, numbness, weight loss, fatigue, etc. Sometimes people with bone cancer are not affected by these symptoms at all and hence, it is very crucial to consult a doctor first and get a proper diagnosis. It is also possible that these symptoms could be an indication of other conditions. Treatment of cancer depends upon the individual age & health along with the location, type, size and stage of cancer.
Some of the treatment methodologies in brief are:
Bone cancer can begin in any bone in the body, but it most commonly affects the pelvis or the long bones in the arms and legs. Like most cancers, the risk of bone cancer increases with age. But for some types of bone cancer, younger people have a higher risk e.g. osteosarcoma.
Dr. Ashish Bajaj – M.B.B.S, M.D.
Researchers and doctors have been trying to solve the mystery of cancer since decades and there is no one single cure for it. The best doctors in the world also cannot determine the exact reason why it affects a young child or an old person and why it does not affect everyone. Though there are defined rules to avoid, understanding the facts about Bone Cancer can help you take necessary precautions to stay healthy and be prepared.
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