Stomach Cancer (original) (raw)

Also called: Gastric cancer

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• Summary
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• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

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Summary

The stomach is an organ between the esophagus and the small intestine. It mixes food with stomach acid and helps digest protein. Stomach cancer mostly affects older people - two-thirds of people who have it are over age 65. Your risk of getting it is also higher if you:

• Have had a Helicobacter pylori infection
• Have had stomach inflammation
• Are a man
• Eat lots of salted, smoked, or pickled foods
• Smoke cigarettes
• Have a family history of stomach cancer

It is hard to diagnose stomach cancer in its early stages. Indigestion and stomach discomfort can be symptoms of early cancer, but other problems can cause the same symptoms. In advanced cases, there may be blood in your stool, vomiting, unexplained weight loss, jaundice, or trouble swallowing. Doctors diagnose stomach cancer with a physical exam, blood and imaging tests, an endoscopy, and a biopsy.

Because it is often found late, it can be hard to treat stomach cancer. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or a combination.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Start Here

• Stomach Cancer (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish

• What Is Stomach Cancer? (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

• What Is Stomach Cancer? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

• Stomach Cancer Symptoms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

• Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

• Questions to Ask Your Health Care Team About Stomach Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

• Stomach Polyps (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

• What Causes Stomach Cancer? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

• Stomach Cancer Survival Rates and Prognosis (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

• Hereditary diffuse gastric cancer: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Stomach Neoplasms (National Institutes of Health)

• Dictionary of Cancer Terms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

• Childhood Stomach Cancer (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

• Abdominal radiation - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

• After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

• Gastrectomy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

• Radiation enteritis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

• Stomach cancer (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish