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Why is understanding how to detect stomach cancer early useful?
One may want to know how to detect stomach cancer early for a number of reasons. They may be experiencing stomach cancer, may have already suffered from it in the past, or are checking for any cancer recurrence. A person may also like to know how to detect stomach cancer early to ensure that they do not have any adverse health issues which could include this kind of cancer.
How does stomach cancer start in a person’s body?
Stomach cancer is also called gastric cancer. Stomach cancer occurs when normal healthy cells are replaced by growing cancer cells in the lining of the stomach region of a person. The stomach is located below the esophagus, which is a tube that food passes through to reach a person’s intestines after they swallow food. Stomach is part of the digestive system whose purpose is to digest food that the person has eaten and move nutrients through the gut to the small intestine.
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Stomach cancer is a kind of cancer that grows and expands slowly. It may take long for the cancer to develop, sometimes even years, which is why it may be helpful to know how to detect stomach cancer early, especially if one is at risk of suffering from it. This kind of cancer usually starts when cells that were once healthy begin rapidly growing in the mucosa of the stomach lining of the person. A collection of cancerous cells is called a tumor, and over time these cells spread into other layers of the stomach, especially if one is not aware of how to detect stomach cancer early.
How to diagnose stomach cancer with regard to the symptoms of a person?
The first signs of stomach cancer may not always be clear. It may be difficult to recognize different kinds of signs and symptoms of the same. The signs of stomach cancer may include heartburn, indigestion, changes in appetite, nausea and vomiting. It may help to consult your doctor or a suitable medical professional if you would like to know more about how to diagnose stomach cancer or how to detect stomach cancer early with regard to the symptoms of a person.
Signs and symptoms of stomach cancer that may be commonly observed or experienced by a patient are:
- Feeling nauseous
- Vomiting, which may or may not include blood
- Appetite changes
- Swelling of abdomen
- Experiencing heartburn
- Not being able to digest food properly
- Some discomfort in the abdominal region above the person’s navel
- Pain in the abdomen or some other kind of discomfort in the region
- Feeling full in the upper abdominal region
- fullness below the chest bone after eating food
- Losing weight without any reason
- Experiencing symptoms of anemia which is caused due to low hemoglobin levels
How to detect stomach cancer?
You must inform your doctor or a suitable medical professional if you are experiencing some unpleasant symptoms that are depleting your quality of life, especially if the kinds of symptoms or signs you are experiencing are may resemble signs and symptoms of stomach cancer. There may be different kinds of screening tests that may be offered to people to test for stomach cancer when people experience these kinds of symptoms. You may discuss what you should look out for when it comes to how to detect stomach cancer symptoms in its initial stages so that you may have some kind of idea about this.
Diagnostic evaluations for gastric cancer include:
- Complete physical exam
- Going over a person’s entire medical history
- Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in order to observe the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine after sedation which involves a small, flexible tube that is inserted into the mouth of the person that has a small camera on the end, allowing the doctor to see inside the stomach of the person
- Biopsy of the stomach tissue of the person, which may be evaluated under a microscope
- A computed tomography scan or CT scan may be used to visualize the organs of a person when they are getting an X-ray
- Endoscopic ultrasound may be used for diagnosis and treatment of stomach cancer at the same time by trying to visualize organs and blood vessels that may be nearby
- A positron emission tomography (PET) scan will be used to light up and observe the cancer cells in the person’s body
- A radioactive sugar tracer may also be used while doing a PET scan or Positron mission Tomography scan as cancer cells use more sugar than healthy cells, and the tracer may be able to light up the cancerous tumor or cancer cells in a person’s body
Stomach cancer may be fatal for a person suffering from it, especially if it is not detected early on and has progressed to further stages without any kind of treatment. If it has been found when it is in early stages, stomach cancer can be cured. However, stomach cancer is often not diagnosed until it reaches later stages. It may often not be diagnosed until it has spread to lymph nodes or other organs in a person’s body. This may severely hamper the regular functioning of the person’s body and causing drastic symptoms. In the advanced stages of stomach cancer, only about 1 in 5 people will usually survive for 5 years after receiving their diagnosis of stomach cancer.
Conclusion
A person should try and know the different ways to check for signs, symptoms, and ways to detect stomach cancer. It may be greatly helpful to try and understand the different ways to check for signs, symptoms, and ways to detect stomach cancer as this will help a person to conclude if they may be suffering from it even before they get the symptoms verified by a doctor or a medical professional that may be considered suitable to do so. This may help the patient to be able to get medical assistance for their stomach cancer before it progresses to a severe stage and harms them more than it may already have.
