Stomach Cancer

Cancer begins when a mutation starts in the cell’s DNA. The mutation causes the cell to grow at a rapid rate and the cell continues to live far beyond its regimented dying time. Cancerous cells accumulate and form a hard or spongy mass or a tumor that can grow and invade organs around it and cancer cells often break off and spread throughout your entire body.

The stomach is the muscular sac located in the middle of your abdomen and just below your ribs. The stomach’s job is to receive and hold the food you eat and then break down foods digest it. Stomach and gastric cancer is essentially the same thing and most often begins in the mucus-producing cells in the lining of the stomach. This is type of cancer is termed adenocarcinoma. The causes of stomach cancer may come from eating a diet filled with salted, smoked, and pickled foods. Since the use of refrigeration this type of preserving foods is not as common and stomach cancer rates have gone down.

Types of Stomach Cancer

The risks for stomach cancers include consuming a diet low in fruits and vegetables and high in salty and smoked foods. If you have a family history of stomach cancer you are at risk and certain types of food infected with bacteria and fungi will cause cancers. Direct correlation to stomach cancers also includes pernicious anemia, stomach polyps and heavy smoking. Most stomach cancers are adenocarcinoma or cancer in the glandular cells that occupy the inside of the stomach. These glandular cells discharge a shielding layer of mucus that safeguards the stomach from acidic digestive liquids and they can become infected.

Lymphoma or cancer that begins in the immune system cells can include a very small number of immune system cells that grow abnormally. This from of stomach cancer is rare. Hormone producing cells can also cause cancers of the stomach. This type of cancer is carcinoid cancer and is also very rare. Cancers that start in the nervous system tissues are called gastrointestinal stromal tumor or GIST and this type of cancer is in specific nervous systems cells that are in your stomach. This type of stomach cancer is not seen very often.

To rid the body of stomach cancer the first treatment if in the early stage can be removal using endoscopy in a procedure entitled endoscopic mucosal resection. You may also be recommended for surgery that removes a portion of your stomach that is diseased or your entire stomach plus the tissue surrounding the stomach area could be removed. You esophagus would then need to be connected directly to your digestive system. Radiation therapy to kill and reduce cancer cells is often used in conjunction with surgery and chemotherapy or a drug treatment using chemicals to kill cancer cells can be part of the protocols in ridding your body of stomach cancers.

Take care of yourself to reduce your risk of stomach cancers. There are medical conditions that increase your risk of stomach cancer and these are anemia, gastritis and polyps. Begin a diet that is rich in vegetables and fruits and keep the fiber content in your diet at reasonable levels. Prevent the risks of stomach cancers and stop smoking and drinking alcohol to access.

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HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

Written by HealthStatus Team
Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our blood alcohol, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years. Our team of health professionals, and researchers use peer reviewed studies as source elements in our articles. Our high quality content has been featured in a number of leading websites, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, Live Strong, GQ, and many more.

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