Stomach Cancer

Stomach Cancer - Overview

Stomach cancer means the abnormal growth of cells in the stomach. That is also called gastric cancer. The stomach is a muscular sac present in the upper middle of your abdomen. The function of the stomach is to receive the eaten food and then help break it down and then digest it. There are many layers in the stomach. The innermost layer of the stomach mucosa gets affected in stomach cancer. 

  The essential entity of all living organisms is the cell. Cells grow when our body needs them and cells die when our body does not need them anymore. But sometimes, out of control growth of cells starts in our body, even though our body does not need it. This out-of-control growth of the cells forms a mass called a tumor. These cancer cells can also grow into nearby areas and may also spread to other body parts (metastasis). 

Stomach cancer treatment in India

India has tremendous technology to deal with stomach cancer. With techniques and medical advancements, India boasts of super-specialty hospitals with expert gastroenterologists, oncologists, and surgeons at your service. The cost of treatment counts on the type and degree of cancer. It also varies from city to city and hospital to hospital. The cost of stomach cancer treatment is more when two therapies are simultaneous. Surgery preceding chemotherapy or radiation therapy may increase expenses compared to the solo procedure. It could be vice versa in some cases too. Stomach cancer treatment in India is beneficial as it involves medical advancements. And cost-effective treatment compared to other developed countries. India has all the latest technology required for stomach cancer treatment like chemotherapy, CT scan, X-ray, ultrasound, laparoscopy, biopsy, e.t.c.

Stomach Cancer - Symptoms

The exact reason for stomach cancer is not known. Many factors can cause cancer. The main factor that causes stomach cancer is a genetic mutation (change in the cells of the stomach). In this mutation, the DNA of the cell changes. DNA of the cell contains all the information for what to do. So, a change in the DNA allows the cell to grow rapidly and continuously, and then these cells attack nearby cells, and healthy cells also die. This rapid growth of cells causes tumors in other body parts.

 Other factors like family history, smoking, salty and smoked food, food low in vegetables and fruits, and obesity can also be reasons for stomach cancer.

At an early stage of stomach cancer, your stomach does not show specific symptoms due to this cancer cannot be found at an early stage. But when the signs do occur disease may be at a dangerous level. The symptoms of stomach cancer can be as follows. These symptoms are not only for stomach cancer but can be due to many other illnesses like ulcers, e.t.c. 

• Abdominal pain
• Heartburn
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Bloating
• Loss of appetite
• Feeling tired
• Gut disturbances

At the advanced stage of gastric cancer, symptoms may include;

• Unexplained weight loss
• Unexplained Weakness 

• Vomiting blood

Stomach Cancer - Pre-Procedure

The pre-procedure of stomach cancer treatment would include all diagnostic tests.

  These are the following tests to diagnose cancer;

• Upper endoscopy: This is also called an esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). That is the primary test to diagnose cancer. In this test, the doctor passes the long, flexible, thin, and lighted tube with a small video camera at the end into your throat. Doctors see the lining of your esophagus, stomach, and small intestine through endoscopy. Then samples are sent to labs where they are looked at with a microscope to see if they are getting an infection with cancer.
• Endoscopic ultrasound: Endoscopic techniques help to determine how far cancer has spread in the stomach. This test is similar to endoscopy, but in that test, the endoscope has an ultrasound probe at the end. That is inserted into the stomach to see the throat. Put this probe against cancer in the stomach, and it uses sound waves to create pictures. Doctors use this technique to see the stomach cancer, as well as lymph nodes and other structures that are outside the stomach. 
• Biopsy: If the doctor sees an unusual area during the endoscopy, then the next step for the doctor to confirm that these are the cancer cells is a biopsy. In a biopsy, samples are taken from the tumor and analyzed under a microscope. The pathologist does this process (the doctor who specializes in interpreting laboratory tests and evaluating cells and tissues to diagnose the diseases is the pathologist).
• X-rays: In this test, doctors used a small amount of radiation to create pictures of the inside of the body. That also helps to show cancer has spread to the lungs. To detect other lung and heart diseases X-ray is used. 
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): This test uses radio waves and strong magnetic fields instead of X-rays. It shows detailed images of soft body tissues. It is helpful to detect the size of a tumor. That distinguishes between healthy and disease cells more accurately. It shows a clear picture compared to other tests and shows from various angles it helps the doctors to construct a three-dimensional image of cancer.
• Computed tomography: This has been used to take pictures of soft tissues of internal body parts. It is helpful to detect the cancer location and tumor size. In this technique, doctors use X-rays to take a picture. It took the picture from various angles, and then with the help of the computer, doctors made three-dimensional images to diagnose more accurately. That also helps to detect cancer that has spread to other body parts like lymph nodes and lungs. 

Stages of the stomach cancer:

Doctors use this tool to describe the stages of the TNM system. Here, (T) means tumor. (N) defines nymph, and (M) means metastasis. Doctors use its diagnosis results to answer the questions. 

• A tumor (T): TNM system shows how long a tumor has gone in the stomach wall. The size of the tumor measures in centimeters. The width of a standard pen or pencil is equal to one centimeter.
• Node (N): It stands for the lymph node. These are a bean-shaped organ that helps to fight against infection. If two or fewer nodes have cancer cells, it will be better than if 3 to 6 or 7 nodes have cancer cells. 
• Metastasis (M): metastasis describes when cancer has spread to other body parts.

These TNM stages are further into sub-stages.

Stomach Cancer - During Procedure

Different procedures like surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy have been used for stomach cancer. 

Stomach cancer treatment

These are the following way through procedures we can treat the stomach cancer;

1. Surgery:

Surgery is the basic process for the treatment of stomach cancer. Operations in this process are the following;

• In the early stage: At the initial step of stomach cancer, doctors remove the small part of the stomach affected by cancer cells with the help of endoscopy.
• Subtotal gastrectomy: At this stage the surgeon removes a part of the stomach, removes adjacent tissue affected by cancer cells, and removes some healthy cells.
• Total gastrectomy: At this stage, doctors remove the whole stomach and some surrounding cells, and then the esophagus is directly connected to the small intestine for digestion.
• Removing lymph nodes: sometimes, surgeons remove the lymph from the body to check for cancer. 
• When stomach cancer reaches stage four, doctors do not recommend surgery directly, but they prefer other treatment procedures instead of surgery.

• Radiation therapy: 

In this process, high-energy X-rays and other radiations help kill cancer cells and stop their growth. In this mechanism, the radiation is sent from outside of the body through a machine. This process is used before surgery to stop the growth of cancer cells and shrink these cells. Radiation therapy is also used after the surgery to destroy the remaining infected cancer cells. There are many side effects of radiation therapy like skin reaction, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, upset stomach, etc. 

1. Chemotherapy: 

Chemotherapy is the process of using anti-cancer drugs to kill and treat cancer. These chemicals are injectable into the vein, and it travels in your body and kills the cancer cells. Chemotherapy is used before the surgery to shrink the cancer cells and make the surgery process easy. That is also used after surgery to destroy the remaining cells of cancer in the body that can cause problems. 

Sometimes chemotherapy is used with radiation therapy, which is called chemoradiation. That may be used with targeted drug therapy in people with advanced cancer stages.

Side effects of the chemotherapy are loss of hair, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, constipation, etc.

• Targeted drug therapy: 

Targeted drug therapy is the process of using drugs to kill or suppress the growth of cancer cells. These are less harmful to healthy cells compared to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These drugs identify the specific cancer cells, genes, tissues, and environment that enhance the cancer cell’s growth. The medicines target the cause and suppress their growth. Multikinase inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies help treat stomach cancer. 

1. Immunotherapy: 

In this process, doctors use the substances to restore, enhance, and boost the immune level of the patient. That helps to fight against the disease itself. These substances can be natural or laboratory-made and then injected into the body. These increase the immunity of the patient.

The possible side effect of immunotherapy is diarrhea and weight change. Talk to your doctor about the possible side effects of this process.

• Palliative treatment:

Progressed gastric malignant growth and its palliative treatment have a long and fascinating history. Today, gastric adenocarcinoma is the driving reason for malignancies around the world. Tragically, many cases do not evaluate until the late phases of illness. It highlights the significance of palliative therapy for gastric disease. Palliative consideration is best known as the passionate consideration of patients whose health isn’t receptive to healing treatment. Even though endoscopy is the most valuable strategy for finding gastric adenocarcinoma, computed tomography might be helpful for assessment. The main indication of palliative treatment is advanced incurable gastric cancer, specifically in those where healing is considered improper. The essential objective of palliative treatment of gastric cancer patients is to work on quality, not really length of life. Four primary modalities of palliative procedure for advanced gastric malignant growth are resection, bypass, stenting, and chemotherapy. The decision of methodology relies upon an assortment of elements, including individual patient visualization and objectives, and ought to be presentable on a defense-by-case premise. Future bearings incorporate the revelation and improvement of serum or stool growth markers focused on prevention, further developing visualization and delineation, and expanding awareness and education.

Stomach Cancer - Post-Procedure

After surgery, what you feel depends upon your treatment. This surgery is life-changing. After this, you should take extra care of yourself. Regarding what you eat and drink and when you eat and drink. Besides this, you should also take care of your wounds and medicines, etc. After the operation, you’ll spend five days in the hospital for your recovery, and you should start the liquid diet with good nutrients concentration.

The following factors are to be taken care of:

1. Wound: After performing open surgery, 1 to 2 wounds may be present. Proper care and regular cleaning of the wound are advisable. Doctors also advise dressing the wound. The stitches or clips of your wound remain for ten days, and the nurse will remove them before going to the house. Before you go home, the doctor will provide you with all information on how to take care of your wound.

• Tubes and drains:

After surgery, there are many pipes inside of your body. You may have the following tubes;

• Drips to enter blood or liquid in your body,
• Drains to drain any fluid.
• A nasogastric tube to stop you from feeling sick.
• A catheter to measure the urine.
• A small tube to check your blood pressure. 
• Painkillers:

After surgery, you feel pain for the first week or so. 

Whenever you feel pain and uneasiness, inform the nurse and doctors. 

The doctor may need your help to prescribe the exact painkiller. After the operation, you might have painkillers through drips that enter the bloodstream. That is called patient-controlled analgesia. Analgesia is a synonym for painkillers. Get painkillers for home. Follow the instructions of the doctor for using these painkillers. Keep in contact with your doctor and discuss if the pain is worse. 

• Eating and drinking: 

Just after surgery, you cannot eat or drink. You’ll take fluid through drips. After recovery, start with a sip of water within 24 to 48 hours. Now, it depends upon you what you can drink and eat. Some patients can start eating after a week. Others need a feeding tube for 4 to 6 weeks. That is all up to your ability and comfort. You can go home with this feeding tube if you feel it is needed.

• Make progress:

After the first week of your operation, you’ll feel better. Your nurse and physiotherapist will help you make good progress as soon as possible. After 12 hours, you can sit on the chair. After one day you can move around your bed. After some time, there will be no tube or drain in your body, and you will feel better. 

• Going home: 

After surgery, some weeks will be tiring for you and maybe some months. Your dietitian will talk to your family about your diet and what is suitable for you. Your progress depends upon how fit you were before surgery and your problems after surgery. If you feel any problems contact your doctor, nurse, and physiotherapist. They will help you to make good progress.

Stomach Cancer - Risk & Complications

A risk factor is anything that enhances your chance of getting diseases. This disease can be cancer. Risk factors vary according to the disorder. The risk factors for stomach cancer are the following: 

• Stomach cancer is dominant in males as compared to females. The ratio is 2:1. 
• Age: Stomach cancer can occur at a young age. But with an increase in age, the risk of cancer also increases. Most people are diagnosed with this disease in the age of 60s, 70s, and 80s.
• Overweight: With an increase in weight the risk of getting cancer also increases.
• Diet: Food in which the salt concentration is high like preserved food by salting and pickling. That increases the risk of gastric cancer. Fresh food like fresh fruits and vegetables reduces this risk.
• Alcohol use:  The use of alcohol increases the chance of stomach cancer. Those people who use three drinks per day have a higher chance of getting cancer. 
• Smoking:  The use of tobacco increases the risk of cancer. It causes cancer in the upper part of the stomach. Smokers double their chances of cancer as compared to healthy people.

Early diagnosis increases the chances of recovery after treatment for gastric cancer. However, there are some risks and complications associated with all types of surgery. However, to face all the problems and changes you feel after surgery, you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. If the problem is minor, it should be dealt with as soon as possible so that it does not grow and be life-threatening.

Top Stomach Cancer - Doctors in India

Finding Stomach Cancer specialist doctor in India for foreign patients even for an Indian person is not easy work. If you are searching for the best Stomach Cancer doctor in India for the treatment then our healthcare consultants are ready for helping you. They provide you with the complete details about the specialist doctors. A list of top Stomach Cancer doctors in India with complete details such as experience, fees, contact number, hospital, etc. in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Chennai, Mumbai etc. are given below and you can book an appointmentonline.

• 

  Dr. Ajay Kumar Kriplani

  Director , MBBS, MS

  Obesity and Bariatric Surgeon

  33 Years of Experience

• 

  Dr. Rashmi Pyasi

  Senior Consultant, MBBS, MS

  Obesity

  20 years of experience

Best Stomach Cancer - Hospitals in India

If you are planning for Stomach Cancer in India and searching for the best Stomach Cancer hospital in India then no worries. Al Alfiya Medi Tour is ready for helping you. We have a team of experienced healthcare consultants. They will help you in finding the best hospital for Stomach Cancer in India. You can choose any top Stomach Cancer hospital in Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida, Chennai, Mumbai, etc. The list of Stomach Cancer hospitals in the main cities- Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, etc. in India with complete details such as hospital address, phone number, city, and best doctors list, etc. is given below. You can book an online appointment with any hospital now.

Apollo Hospital, Delhi

BLK Super Speciality Hospital

Artemis Hospital

Fortis Hospital, Gurgaon

Medanta The Medicity

W Pratiksha Hospital, Gurgaon

Max Hospital, Saket

Jaypee Hospital

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More Info About Stomach Cancer

Stomach Cancer Treatment Cost in India

India is one of the top emerging medical tourism countries in the world due to the affordable treatment cost in India for patients from any county around the globe. If you are going for Stomach Cancer treatment in India, you should know the Stomach Cancer treatment cost in India. The cost of Stomach Cancer treatment/surgery in India varies from hospital to hospital, city to city and it also depends on the doctor's fee. If you want to know about the exact Stomach Cancer surgery cost in India then contact us anytime 24x7. Our healthcare consultants will help you.

Stomach Cancer Success Rate in India

Stomach Cancer success rate in India is very excellent. Although success rate depends on various factors such as hospital, doctor, patient, and many more. You can consult online with our healthcare professionals to know the success rate of Stomach Cancer in India.