Gastric cancer usually begins in its mucosa, and in the initial stages it proceeds little. Therefore, it is often diagnosed already in the late stages.
Stomach cancer flows quite slowly - in some cases even for many years. The tumor eventually grows into organs located near the body, into the lymph nodes and spreads through the lymphatic system. Also, malignant cells can enter the lungs, liver and bones through the bloodstream.
Symptoms of cancer include:
- anemia;
- lethargy, apathy;
- nausea, vomiting;
- lack of appetite;
- rapid weight loss;
- increased body temperature;
- stomach pain( the nature of the pain is dull);
- strong pickiness when choosing food.
There are such forms of the disease course:
- latent;
- painless;
- painful.
Latent form means the course of the disease without any symptoms. In this case, the tumor can be detected already at a late stage - when the patient's stomach is probed( this can be done by the patient or his attending physician), and also by X-ray examination or ultrasound that can be prescribed for the diagnosis of other diseases.
The course of the painless form of cancer is characterized by common symptoms, but there is no pain syndrome. The painful form, in addition to the main symptoms, is manifested by pains in the abdomen, which occur quite often. These pains are not regular: they do not depend on food intake or on the time of day. Such pain can be very severe. If the tumor grows into the internal organs, the patients feel pain in the back( with such patients being treated for radiculitis or neuralgia).
The course of this disease depends on the location of the tumor and the nature of its growth, the functional disorders and complications that it causes. The overall survival of patients with gastric cancer for 5 years is about 20%.If the cancer is located in the upper stomach, the prognosis of the disease is worse than when it is located in the lower part of the stomach.
Complications of stomach cancer
Depletion of stomach cancer can lead to the development of infections in the lungs, urinary tract and other organs and systems. In stomach cancer, such complications can develop:
- massive bleeding;
- perforation of the wall of the stomach;
- stenosis of the cardiac department of the organ;
- intoxication.
Bleeding in stomach cancer can start from a tumor, which can be caused by exposure to a tumor of gastric juice or tumor decay with a large area of damage to the walls of the organ. The symptom of bleeding from the tumor is vomiting with a liquid that resembles coffee grounds( this is explained by the interaction of blood with gastric juice), the stool becomes black, becomes liquid. When these symptoms occur, you must take a lying position, put a hot water bottle on the stomach with cold water and call an ambulance.
With the perforation of the stomach, all its contents( juice and half-digested food) flow into the abdominal cavity, causing peritonitis. If you do not recognize this complication in time, then the probability of a fatal outcome is high. At a perforation there is a sharp pain, a vomiting and a nausea.
Stenosis of the stomach can occur with tumors of large size. Intoxication with cancer causes the patient to feel nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, a violation of the stool, and there are failures in the endocrine system, heart and liver. Malignant cells absorb vitamins, microelements and glucose from the body. This provokes lethargy, weakness and loss of body weight. Intoxication of the body can cause treatment, conducted with the disease.