The stomach is where gastric cancer grows. It is the third most common type of cancer in the world and the fifth most common type of cancer in children. East Asians are most likely to get stomach cancer, but people of all races and cultures can get it.
No one knows for sure what causes stomach cancer, but several things can make you more likely to get it. These risk factors are:
Age: Older people are more likely to get gastric cancer.
Gender: Men are more likely than women to get stomach cancer.
Foods: Eating a lot of prepared meats and not many fruits and veggies can make you more likely to get gastric cancer.
Stomach pain that lasts for a long time: problems like gastritis and peptic ulcers can raise your risk of getting stomach cancer.
Family history of stomach cancer: If someone in your family has had stomach cancer, you are more likely to get it yourself.
People may mistake the early signs of gastric cancer for those of other, less dangerous diseases because they are not always clear. These are some of the most common early signs of stomach cancer:
Constant stomach pain
Stomach pain
Pain or soreness in the abdomen
Full after eating a small amount of food
Feeling sick
Being sick
Loss of weight without meaning to
Low hemoglobin, or anemia
For more than two weeks, if you have any of these signs, you should see a doctor to rule out stomach cancer and other dangerous conditions.
In its later stages, stomach cancer may show more specific signs, such as
Having trouble eating
Bloody poop
Stools in black
Having a lot of fluid or swelling in the belly
Lymph nodes that are bigger in the neck, armpits, or groin
Jaundice makes the skin and eyes turn yellow.
If any of these things happen to you, you should immediately see a doctor.
Chances of Cancer
People over 65 are more likely to get stomach cancer, but anyone can get it. People who have an inflammatory condition in their stomach, like gastritis or peptic ulcers, are more likely to get throat cancer. Other things that put you at risk for stomach cancer are:
Using tobacco
A food plan that is heavy on prepared meats and light on fruits and veggies
A history of stomach cancer in the family
Being overweight
People are becoming more and more overweight every year, which is a big problem in our society. Being overweight is very bad for your health and can cause many other issues as well, like heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. If you are overweight, you may be more likely to get gastric cancer, which is also called stomach cancer.
For some people, being overweight may make them more likely to get stomach cancer. This is because being overweight can make the stomach swell, which can hurt the walls of the stomach and raise the risk of getting cancer. Besides that, being overweight can cause other health problems like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and Barrett’s esophagus, which make the risk of getting stomach cancer higher.
Screening Test
If you have a high chance of getting stomach cancer, you should talk to your doctor about getting tests to check for it. These tests can help find stomach cancer early when it is easiest to treat. Endoscopy is a famous screening test that looks at the inside of the stomach with a thin, bendable tube with a camera on its end. A gastric biopsy is another test that looks for signs of cancer by taking a small piece of tissue from the stomach.
It is essential to keep in mind that screening tests are not perfect and can help find stomach cancer early. You should see your doctor right away if you have stomach pain, feeling sick, or losing weight for no apparent reason. If you find and treat stomach cancer early, your chances of a full recovery are much higher.
If you think you might have stomach cancer, you should talk to your doctor. They can help you determine how to stay healthy and how much risk you are.
