Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer starts in lining of the stomach and spreads through the stomach as it grows. The cancer cells usually form a tumor within the stomach. Stomach cancer can spread nearby into the liver or esophagus. It can also spread to the lymph nodes or blood vessels and then to other areas of the body.

About Stomach Cancer

  • Stomach cancer mostly affects older people. 60% are 65 or older when diagnosed.

  • Men are more likely to get stomach cancer than women.

Risk Factors for Stomach Cancer

There are a number of risk factors for developing stomach cancer, including:

Man suffering from stomachache

Make an appointment

For more information, please contact your oncologist or the Cancer Care Center at (859) 301-4000.

Causes of Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer is caused when healthy cells within the digestive system become cancerous and grow, usually forming a tumor. Stomach cancer tends to develop over many years.

Symptoms of Stomach Cancer

Symptoms of stomach cancer include:

  • Abdominal pain or swelling.
  • Belching or burping.
  • Blood in stool.
  • Indigestion.
  • Heartburn.
  • Jaundice (yellowing skin).
  • Loss of appetite.
  • Trouble swallowing.
  • Unexplained weight loss.
  • Vomiting.

Diagnosing Stomach Cancer

If your doctor suspects that you have stomach cancer, we may run tests to determine the stage of cancer to develop the best treatment plan. These tests may include:

  • Barium swallow with X-ray.
  • Blood test.
  • CT scan.
  • Endoscopy.
  • MRI.
  • PET/CT scan.
  • Ultrasound.
If you’ve been diagnosed with stomach cancer, we can provide a second opinion and present treatment options.

 

Treating Stomach Cancer

At St. Elizabeth Healthcare, we believe in caring for you, not just treating your cancer. Our holistic approach means we combine cancer treatment with working to minimize side effects and help you manage them. Our goal is to make you as comfortable as possible while we use innovative approaches to treat your cancer.

Your treatment plan for stomach cancer usually begins with surgery and uses a combination of other treatments depending on the stage of your cancer or if it has spread. Your treatment may include:

  • Chemotherapy — Therapy that uses drugs injected through IV, taken by mouth or applied on the skin to attack and kill cancer cells. St. Elizabeth also offers hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion (HIPEC), which combines surgery with chemotherapy to destroy as many cancer cells as possible.

  • Clinical trials — Innovative drug and genetic therapies used to treat stomach cancers.
  • Immunotherapy — Medication therapy that stimulates your own immune system to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

  • Interventional radiation procedures — Nonsurgical, minimally invasive procedures to kill or shrink tumors. We use radiofrequency ablation and embolization to destroy small tumors without surgery and chemoembolization to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly to tumors.

  • Radiation therapy — Therapy that uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells, including progressive radiation treatments such as proton-based stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

  • Surgery — A procedure to remove cancer while preserving as much healthy tissue as possible. We use minimally invasive and traditional surgical procedures, including robotic stomach resections.

  • Precision medicine — Medication therapy that uses your DNA to specifically target the cells that lead to cancer and stop cancer from forming and spreading.

  • Supportive care — Helping you coordinate appointments and treating the side effects from your cancer or cancer treatment.

Preventing Stomach Cancer

Lifestyle changes can lower your risk of stomach cancer. These include:

  • Avoid smoking — Smoking is linked to many cancers, including stomach cancer.

  • Decrease alcohol consumption — Heavy alcohol use is associated with numerous cancers, including stomach cancer.

  • Diet — A diet rich in fiber, fruits, green vegetables and whole grains can lower your risk of stomach cancer.

  • Exercise — Thirty minutes a day of exercise can decrease your risk of many cancers and help keep you at a healthy weight.

  • Maintain a healthy weight — Obesity is a risk factor in many cancers and increases your risk of stomach cancer.

Your Cancer Care Team

Cancer Research Physicians

The team includes medical oncologists specializing in immunotherapy and precision medicine, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, thoracic surgeons, pain management specialists, genetic counselors, pathologists, nutritionists, pharmacists, nurses and support staff. They work together to create a treatment plan that’s just right for you.

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