Health and Medical Articles

Sometimes the cancer can be found in the stomach for a long time and grow considerably before it causes symptoms. In the early stages of stomach cancer, the patient may suffer from indigestion and upset stomach, bloated feeling after eating, have mild nausea, loss of appetite or heartburn. In more advanced stages of stomach cancer, the patient may have blood in stool, vomiting, weight loss or stomach pain. The probability that the patient will develop cancer of the stomach is higher has had a stomach infection caused by Helicobacter pylori, or if you are elderly, if male, if you smoke cigarettes or drink often a dry food diet salty. Other factors that increase the likelihood of developing cancer of the stomach is a stomach disorder called atrophic gastritis, Ménétrier disease, a blood disorder called pernicious anemia, or a hereditary condition of growths (polyps) in the large intestine.
If there are symptoms, the doctor may order x-rays of the upper gastrointestinal (also known as upper GI series). For this test, the patient drinks a liquid containing barium, which allows the stomach is observed more easily on the radiograph. Generally, this test is performed in the doctor’s office or hospital radiology department.