Treatment of Stomach Cancer
The only curative treatment for stomach cancer is surgery, which will seek to remove the tumor with margins that may allow healing. Is usually necessary to remove the entire stomach and surrounding lymph nodes. Then he joins the small intestine to the esophagus or stomach with the rest (if it was possible to leave something) to allow feeding the patient through the mouth. To accomplish this it is essential that the cancer is discovered as soon as possible, so that the chances of cure are greater.
To improve the results of surgery or, sometimes, as the only alternative treatment when surgery is not feasible, perform different chemotherapy treatments, with mixed results. This is why chemotherapy is administered in different ways according to the center in question and none of which has stood significantly above the rest. Can also sometimes given before surgery, or directly into the abdomen during surgery or radiotherapy together. There is therefore a unique treatment system.
What complications can arise?
Complications can arise from surgery, chemotherapy or cancer outcomes. Diagnostic studies generally do not usually cause complications and more important, such as bleeding or gastric perforation by endoscopy are rare.
Gastrectomy is a fairly aggressive intervention and therefore can lead to many complications. It is common for patients with complete removal of the stomach to spend some days in an intensive care unit monitoring. Complications can be general, the most frequent respiratory (collapse of part of the lung or atelectasis, pneumonia, pleural effusion) and urinary (urine infection), or local. Among these, the most common are infection and bleeding (which can reach the patient require reoperation) but also are important pancreatitis and anastomotic dehiscence (when loose ends that have been spliced out and the content the abdomen, causing peritonitis or fistula).
The patients who have been removed stomach can lead a normal life with some precautions. Chew at the food and make several meals a day less than usual amount. The chewing is especially important for fruit and vegetables is convenient crush in a food if they can not chew well. Also often require administration of vitamin B12 through a monthly injection.
Chemotherapy will cause various complications depending on the combination to be used but often the hair loss and digestive disturbances (mainly nausea and vomiting).
For its part, the cancer may:
* Extend the peritoneum as a carcinomatosis causing intestinal obstruction pattern.
* Reappear in the same location (local recurrence), giving different problems depending on the size and location.
* Causing liver metastases, with the consequent destruction of the liver.
What is the prognosis of stomach cancer?
Unfortunately the prognosis of stomach cancer is bad enough, since cancer is usually diagnosed in advanced stages. However, when detected early and removed properly can achieve very high survival figures, which are as high as 90% at 5 years.
Anyway, where you can not cure cancer, surgery and chemotherapy can improve survival and quality of life of patients, in addition to palliative care units are usually able to get a pretty good control of symptoms.
Can we prevent stomach cancer?
You can not prevent the occurrence of gastric cancer as such, but the following measures help to be less frequent and more cases are diagnosed in early stages and therefore better prognosis:
* Do not smoke and be moderate in the consumption of alcohol.
* Include a significant amount of vegetables and fruits (especially citrus) in your diet.
* See your doctor to treat you if you have any disease of the stomach and follow the controls as recommended.
* See your doctor as soon as the stomach-related symptoms (discomfort with digestion, vomiting, abdominal pain, etc …)