What Are the Signs of Gastric Cancer?
Gastric cancer, which is commonly referred to as stomach cancer, occurs due to overgrowth of the cells in our stomach. This cancer type is not common among the people of the United States. However, people living in countries of the Middle East and Asia frequently get diagnosed with gastric cancer. The disease is most common in Japan. Identifying the signs of gastric cancer allows its early diagnosis, which increases the patient’s chances of getting cured. Below, we have discussed the common signs of gastric cancer.
Pain: A patient with gastric cancer ca
n develop tumors in his stomach, which can grow and spread to adjacent organs as the disease progresses. According to medical experts growth of stomach cancer tumors can trigger pain and discomfort within the patient’s abdomen.
Dark stools: Blood in stool is a common sign of gastric cancer. As this blood comes from the patient’s stomach through his gastrointestinal tract, it loses its red color while being excreted through bowels. The excreted blood experiences chemical changes after reacting with the digestive enzymes and develops a black tinge. As a result of this, the patient might have tar or black colored stool.
Bloating, nausea, vomiting: Abnormal cellular growth within the stomach might result in increase of gastric juice production reducing the space allotted for storage of food. This might cause a bloating sensation in the patient and he may suffer from loss of appetite. Vomiting and nausea are also frequently observed in the gastric cancer patients. These patients can even vomit blood.
Unexplained weight loss: Sudden decrease in body weight is common among patients with gastric cancer. We have mentioned that this disease can decrease the appetite of the patients, as a result of which their daily calorific intake decreases drastically. This leads to significant weight loss.
Besides that, the cancer cells are known for burning more calories compared to the normal cells leading to unintentional weight loss in the patient.
