Stomach Cancer Quiz

Cancer of the stomach. The primary symptom is indigestion or "heartburn." Sometimes people have nausea or bloating and weight loss and fatigue as well. It is diagnosed when a doctor, usually a gastroenterologist, puts a tube with a camera down the throat while the patient is sleeping and takes a biopsy of any abnormality they see in the stomach. Once the cancer has been diagnosed by biopsy, CT scans, PET scans and MRIs may be ordered as well. Known risk factors include alcohol, occupational exposures such as rubber, an infection called "H pylori," pernicious anemia, gastric acid reflux (GERD) and age.

• Black, shiny stool

• Upset tummy / upper abdominal discomfort

• Impression edema

• Blood in stool

• Burning or hunger sensation in the stomach

• Swelling of the arms or hands

• Heartburn; painful burning feeling in the chest or throat

• Upper central abdominal pain

This disease should be treated by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors (surgeon, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist) working together to come up with the best plan that can integrate possible surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, or a combination of these and in various orders and at varying times. Treatment plans vary on the size and location of the tumor, the involvement of nearby lymph nodes, whether the tumor has spread anywhere else, and the overall condition of the patient.