I'm Dr. Bassam Sonbol,
an oncologist at Mayo Clinic.
In this video we'll cover
the basics of stomach cancer:
What is it? Who gets it?
The symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment.
Whether you're looking for answers for
yourself or someone you love,
we're here to give you
the best information available.
Stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer,
can happen in any part of the stomach.
However, in the U.S.,
most stomach cancers occur
in the gastroesophageal junction,
which is where the esophagus -
the tube that carries chewed up
food - meets the stomach.
There are several different types
of stomach cancers,
but most are curable
if detected at an early stage.
What once was the leading cause of cancer
death is now well down on the list thanks to
the advancement in technology
and scientific research.
In fact, new cases of
stomach cancers have dropped by
about 1.5% every year for the last 10 years.
Stomach cancer more commonly
affects older people.
The average age of those
diagnosed with stomach cancer is 68.
Around 60% of
cases occur in patients older than 65,
and there is a slightly higher lifetime risk
of stomach cancer in men.
However, it can affect anyone.
Stomach cancer tends to
develop slowly over time,
usually over many years.
What happens is small changes occur
in the DNA of the stomach cells, telling
them to over multiply and then they
accumulate, forming
abnormal growth called tumors.
There are several known
risk factors that could
increase your risk of
developing stomach cancer,
for instance, smoking doubles
your risk of stomach cancer,
family history of stomach cancer,
infection with H. pylori,
long-term stomach inflammation,
gastroesophageal reflux disease,
or stomach polyps.
Eating a diet high in salty and smoked
foods or low in fruits and
vegetables can be also a risk.
And there is some correlation
between higher weight and risk, as well.
Stomach cancer can present
itself in several different ways,
such as difficulty swallowing,
feeling bloated after eating,
feeling full after only eating
a small amount of food, heartburn,
indigestion, nausea, stomach pain,
unintentional weight loss, and vomiting.
If you have any signs and symptoms that
worry you, make
an appointment with your doctor.
Your doctor may investigate
the more common causes
of these symptoms first
or refer you to a specialist, like
a gastroenterologist
or an oncologist, like me.
To determine if you have stomach cancer,
your doctor may start with an upper endoscopy,
where a tiny camera is passed
through the throat and into the stomach.
If your doctor finds
something suspicious,
they remove some tissue for a biopsy, where
the cells gets sent to
a lab for further analysis.
Your doctor may also run
some imaging tests, like
CT scan or a special x-ray
called a barium swallow.
Identifying the extent of the cancer
helps your doctor
determine the best treatment.
To determine the stage,
they will run more tests, like blood tests,
endoscopic ultrasound,
CT scan, or a PET scan.
In some cases, your doctor may recommend
laparoscopic surgery, where the doctor
inserts a special camera
directly into the abdomen.
Creating a treatment plan
for stomach cancer is
a collaborative effort between
doctors from different specialties.
Our goal is to make the best treatment plan
for your overall health
and personal well-being.
There are five main treatment options
for stomach cancer:
Surgery to remove all of
the cancerous tissue and probably
some of the healthy tissue around it.
Chemotherapy, which uses drugs
that journey throughout the body,
destroying any cancer cells in its path.
Radiation therapy, which uses
high-powered beams of energy
to target cancer cells.
Targeted drug therapy, focusing on blocking
specific weaknesses
present within cancer cells.
And immunotherapy, a drug treatment that helps
your immune system recognize
which cells are dangerous and attack them.
Finding out you have cancer can
be really overwhelming and difficult.
It can help to find spaces where
other people
understand what you're going through.
Try connecting with cancer survivors
online or in your community.
Learning about your condition can help you
make confident decisions about your care.
If you'd like to learn more
about stomach cancer,
watch our other related videos
or visit Mayo Clinic.org.
We wish you well.