Treatment of stomach cancer is possible only after the diagnosis is clarified. Modern techniques are quite effective if you can notice the disease at an early stage, so it is important to know its symptoms. Turning to the doctor, as soon as suspicious symptoms began to bother, a person significantly increases his chances of a better development scenario.
General information
Before you figure out what the treatment of stomach cancer should be, you should consider what this disease is. The term is used to denote such an oncological pathology, when a malignant neoplasm appears in the human body. The starting material for its development is the cells that form the gastric epithelium.
Statistics clearly show that most people need treatment for stomach cancer in people of forty years of age and older, although in recent years cases of developing the disease at a young age have become more frequent. Rarely, pathology is diagnosed in people under the age of thirty.
Currently, stomach cancer is amongother oncological diseases in terms of frequency of occurrence and risks of death firmly ranks second, second only to malignant neoplasms in the lungs.
Description of disease
To be less likely to face the need for urgent treatment of stomach cancer, you need to understand what the essence of the disease is and what can provoke it. Pathology is common, so any modern person should have a general idea about it. Cancer can develop in any part of the stomach, and metastases spread throughout the body. A distinctive feature is the high speed of this process. Most often, secondary malignant neoplasms are detected in the lungs, liver.
Treatment of stomach cancer started too late, ignoring the symptoms of the disease, late seeking medical help and neglect of classic, proven approaches are some of the factors due to which stomach cancer is fatal. On average, the number of victims of this disease per year is estimated at 800 thousand people worldwide.
More often men need treatment for stomach cancer than women. Up to 80% of cases are accompanied by metastases, that is, atypical cells spread throughout the body, affecting new organs. Stages with metastases allow us to talk about both primary and secondary cancer. It is known from statistics that patients often turn to the doctor at the fourth stage of the disease, which is characterized by metastases and severe symptoms of primary cancer. Unfortunately, modernmedicine does not yet have such means that could provide the patient with a good chance for a long life. If you suspect a pathology, you do not need to delay until it comes to the stage with metastases - you should sign up for an examination as soon as possible.
From the information received by doctors over many years of attempts to treat stomach cancer (successful, as the figures show, not always), it follows that metastases spread with the flow of lymph and blood. In addition, a malignant neoplasm can grow into tissues and organs close to the stomach. Depending on the characteristics of the distribution, it is customary to talk about metastases:
- hematogenous;
- lymphogenic;
- implantation.
Patient present and future
Mean survival rates vary considerably. The best prognosis is for those who suspected a problem in time and applied for a diagnosis of stomach cancer to the clinic. Treatment, being started in a timely manner, provides 65% of patients with a six-month survival rate. For a serious stage, this parameter is estimated at no more than 15%, and some experts voice an even more tragic figure - only five percent of patients can count on six months of life after the diagnosis is formulated.
Many patients initially go to the clinic with complaints, on the basis of which a non-professional does not suspect oncology. More often they come complaining about:
- dyspepsia;
- painful digestion;
- food processing problems;
- breaking stool.
Finding out the cause of the symptoms,by conducting a comprehensive examination, doctors may find that treatment for stomach cancer is already required. The first symptoms of the disease are rather vague, so it is difficult to suspect something is wrong when the disease is just beginning.
Risk groups and varieties
Most often, oncological processes in the stomach are detected in men over the age of forty, much less often the pathology develops in thirty-year-olds, and in extremely rare cases it is recorded in even younger people.
Nine out of ten tumors found in the stomach, according to medical statistics, are malignant. The majority of these neoplasms are carcinomas. In men, the disease is most often diagnosed at the age of 50-75.
It is quite difficult to start timely treatment of stomach cancer: the symptoms are extremely diverse, depending not only on the patient's personal characteristics, but also on his place of residence, the specifics of the surrounding space. Based on the information collected, doctors suggest that the development of cancer is provoked by several groups of factors:
- climate;
- geographical area;
- food habits;
- life features.
Other specific aspects of a person's everyday life may also play a role.
Where did the trouble come from?
If you are well versed in the causes of the disease, thus to some extent you can save your he alth, which means that treatment of stomach cancer is less likely to be required. Reviews of doctors, however,disappointing: experts say that in most cases it is not possible to determine exactly which factor provoked the malignant process. It is believed that oncology develops with the combined influence of several aspects. Supposed to play a role:
- helicobacter pylori infection;
- gastric polyps;
- chronic pathologies that negatively affect the gastric mucosa;
- genetic predisposition.
And more details?
Helicobacter pylori is a microscopic life form that provokes gastritis, a stomach ulcer. As specific studies have shown, in people who need treatment for stomach cancer (stages - all), the concentration of this bacterium in the digestive system is several times higher than in he althy people.
Polyps are called such growths on the gastric mucosa, which in themselves are benign, but can cause oncology. They develop more often if a person is sick with chronic gastric pathologies. A special risk is associated with atrophic gastritis - the mucous membrane becomes thinner, the juice is generated in small volumes. If gastric polyps appear, the risk of developing a malignant process in the neoplasm increases. The situation is especially dangerous when the dimensions of the polyp are 2 cm or more, and the structure contains elements that can produce mucus. The risk of cancer increases significantly if there are several polyps.
As can be seen from medical reviews, treatment of stomach cancer is more often required for people whose close relatives already had cancerpatients, including those suffering from pathologies of the digestive system. The probability of a malignant neoplasm increases significantly.
No less important is everyday life. So, with a much greater degree of probability, treatment of metastases of stomach cancer will be required if a person prefers to eat:
- canned food;
- spicy;
- fat;
- fried.
Any components that have a pronounced chemical activity, once in the stomach, harm the mucosa, violate the natural defenses, which means that potentially dangerous compounds can penetrate the structure of the organ. Since in everyday life people are found (including in food) with an abundance of carcinogens, the likelihood of a cancerous process is quite high. A cell into which a carcinogen has penetrated does not always cause disease - it can be destroyed by the body's defenses, but the risk of rebirth is very high.
Factors and Habits
It is known that surgery is much less often required to treat stomach cancer in people who eat vegetables and fruits. A balanced diet rich in vitamins and irreplaceable microscopic elements helps to reduce the likelihood of a negative process. Of course, only reasonable nutrition cannot guarantee the absence of oncology, but it significantly reduces its likelihood.
But a smoking person and abusing alcohol can worsen their own forecasts. Both of these factors can be the cause of malignant neoplasms.in various tissues of the body, and the very fact of their influence has been established for a long time.
Higher risk of cancer in people suffering from hormonal imbalance. Statistics show that the disease is more often observed in people with excess weight, background diseases. Among the predisposing ones are primarily pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and the reproductive system, but other he alth disorders can also provoke malignant processes.
Since the best therapy is prevention, the best treatment for stomach cancer is to minimize the factors that can trigger it. It is known that oncology is often observed against the background of an ulcer, so it is important to start the fight against this disease in a timely manner. Rebirth usually drags on for many years, so the patient has time to find an approach and eliminate the ulcer before it leads to disastrous consequences.
There are also known cases when cancer developed on its own, without background he alth disorders. Most often, the disease manifests itself with symptoms very similar to an ulcer. To make an accurate diagnosis, you should visit a doctor. Based on the results of the study, the doctor will recommend which effective treatment to choose: stomach cancer or ulcers.
Types and categories
For each case, each group, each stage, the treatment of stomach cancer has its own specific characteristics. To select the most effective program, it is important to examine the patient's condition, to accurately determine all the individual nuances of the case.
Carcinoma is the most common. The tumor develops from the stomachmucous. The main cells are mucus-producing structures.
So-called solid cancer is known. This form is not very common, its distinctive feature is the basis for the development of the process. Neoplasm appears from dense tissues.
Crystal cell - a type of oncology that is formed from cells, with a large increase, recognizable by the shape of the rings. Such a disease usually develops very quickly, metastasizes before other forms.
Leiomyosarcoma is a cancer that develops on the basis of the muscle fibers of the stomach.
Lymphoma appears in the lymph cells.
Depending on localization, all cases are divided into the following categories:
- cardiac cancer (at the point where the stomach meets the esophagus);
- cancer of the body (in the middle part);
- small curvature (organ wall on the right);
- pyloric (at the point of transition of the stomach into the intestine).
Another classification involves dividing all cases into two groups:
- endophytic;
- exophytic.
First - a situation where the tumor grows inside the wall of the stomach. The disease manifests itself with symptoms similar to an ulcer. The second category is the spread of the neoplasm into the gastric lumen. There is a variant of the polypoid process, mushroom-shaped, nodular.
Stages of the disease
It's no secret that the complexity (in degrees) of stomach cancer treatment varies greatly, it all depends on the stage at which the malignant process was detected. The best prognosis is when the disease is detected at the zero stage, butthe probability of this is quite small. This period of disease development is characterized by atypical cells based on the inner surface of the stomach. Depth propagation has not yet occurred.
The next step is the first stage. Forecasts for patients: five-year survival is typical for eight people out of every ten patients. The stage is usually divided into two subgroups: A and B. A is a code that indicates the absence of the spread of atypical cells deep into the organ. B - code indicating that the neoplasm is spreading to the lymph nodes or muscle fibers.
There are also two subgroups in the second stage. The stage is estimated at 56% survival over a five-year period. 2A: the neoplasm will not spread deep into the organ, but affects nearby lymph nodes (up to six locations). Class 2A also includes such a case when atypical cells are detected in the muscle layer and no more than two nodes of the lymphatic system located near the neoplasm. If the lymphatic system is absolutely clean, even such a case is included in group 2A, when all layers of the stomach wall are affected by atypical cells.
2B - also a fairly broad category, includes several scenarios:
- malignant processes are localized on the inner surface of the stomach, atypical cells are found in seven or more lymph nodes;
- the tumor affected the muscle fibers, no more than two lymph nodes;
- lymph nodes are clean, but the process spreads through the wall of the stomach to external (relative to the organ) structures.
Progress of disease
The third stage is divided into three categories: A, B, C. Five-year survival is estimated at 15-40%. 3A is diagnosed if the tumor has affected the muscular gastric fibers, seven or more lymph nodes. An alternative option is up to two lymph nodes and the defeat of all gastric layers. 3B is set if the neoplasm has grown into the outer wall of the stomach and spread to 7 lymph nodes and more. An alternative option is the defeat of up to two nodes and all layers of the tissues of the stomach, as well as those located nearby. 3C - a variant of the disease, when atypical cells are detected outside the wall of the stomach and in seven or more lymph nodes or have grown into the tissues surrounding the organ and spread to the lymph nodes (up to six pieces).
The most difficult treatment for stage 4 stomach cancer. This variant is diagnosed when the pathology has engulfed the lymphatic system, atypical cells with fluid flow have spread throughout the body, began to grow in other organs and tissues. Treatment of stage 4 stomach cancer is the fight against metastasis, accompanied by the treatment of the underlying problem. Forecasts are disappointing: a five-year survival rate is less than 5%. However, you should not give up: treatment of stage 4 stomach cancer with metastases is possible, and no one can predict the result 100%.
What to do?
The most effective treatments for stomach cancer are available to patients in modern clinics with high-precision equipment and the latest medicines. The course program is as follows:
- radical surgery;
- chemotherapy;
- irradiation.
It is impossible to cure the disease on your own. Even reliable and considered the most effective folk remedies for the treatment of stomach cancer will not show a pronounced result, although you can resort to them, in agreement with the doctor, as an aid to improve the general condition.
Resection allows you to stop severe symptoms of the disease and increase the life of the patient, improve the patient's condition in general. The choice of the method of treatment of stomach cancer remains with the doctor - sometimes they decide to remove part of the organ, sometimes the removal of the stomach is indicated completely.
Radio and chemotherapy are auxiliary methods to eliminate metastases if the malignant process has spread beyond the stomach. Diagnosis, choice of treatment program is the responsibility of a gastroenterologist, oncologist, surgeon.
Features and therapy
If it was possible to detect a malignant neoplasm at the zero or first stage, a detailed examination of the patient confirmed the absence of metastases, the mucous membrane is affected, but the layers under it have not yet become the area of localization of atypical cells, you can remove a certain percentage of the gastric wall, nearby lymph nodes and a small volume fabrics. This option is the most positive, the prognosis is the best, and the rehabilitation is relatively simple and shorter than in other cases.
After the intervention, the volume of the stomach will become smaller. If complete removal of the organ is indicated, the esophagus is artificially connected to the intestine. In futurepersons who have undergone such an operation will only be able to eat fractionally, in small portions.
Irradiation is necessary to slow down the growth of the neoplasm, to reduce the tumor somewhat. Radiation therapy is indicated before surgery to reduce the volume required for removal, and also after it in order to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Chemotherapy is the appointment of a complex of medications for the suppression of vital activity and the destruction of degenerated cellular structures. After surgery, such a course is prescribed to prevent the development of atypical cells if they remain in the body, and therefore reduce the likelihood of relapse.
As a rule, all methods are combined to achieve the best result.
Course Features
During the treatment of stomach cancer, it is especially important to eat fully, balanced, and right. The body, forced to fight cancer, needs protein structures, trace elements and vitamin complexes, and the specificity of the disease is such that the work of the gastrointestinal tract is depressed. It is important to control the caloric content of the diet and the amount of food consumed, to give preference to the most he althy dishes.
There are cases when states of mental depression developed against the background of stomach cancer. Patients may become depressed, some become lethargic, refuse to eat. This forces the infusion of nutrients into the vein.
Disease and treatment: side effects
Oncological diseases are very poorly tolerated by a person, complications greatly worsen the patient's condition. ExceptIn addition, the methods of combating malignant tumors available to modern doctors are also hard to tolerate by people. Quite often, cancer is accompanied by anemia caused by bleeding due to damage to the vascular walls. If the neoplasm is large, necrosis processes are possible, which means that toxins entering the body show a pronounced toxic effect. Atypical cells actively consume energy, and the patient loses his appetite, so the disease is often accompanied by dystrophy.
Prolonged exposure can cause burns, dermatitis, radiation sickness. Chemo causes:
- weakness;
- breaking stool;
- nausea, vomiting;
- hair loss;
- dry skin;
- eczema;
- violation of the reproductive organs;
- fragility, deformation of nails;
- dermatitis.
Quite often, against the background of antitumor treatment, patients are forced to fight infection of the body, since the immune system is suppressed both by the disease and by the methods available to doctors to combat it. Against the background of oncology, infection is difficult and can cause severe complications. The course is most difficult for people who need treatment for stage 4 stomach cancer with metastases.
Operation: some features
Resection of the stomach is the most reliable method available to modern man, but it is not always possible to resort to it. If the tumor is large, the process has gone far, the operation is simply impossible. Radical intervention is prohibited if atypical cellshave spread to other organs, as it is not realistic to remove all the affected areas while maintaining the body's ability to function.
If it was possible to identify the disease at the very beginning, perhaps only the operation will be enough, you will not have to go through radiation and chemotherapy. However, in practice, such cases are quite rare, since it is extremely problematic to detect cancer at the zero stage and even the first one.
Treatment with folk remedies
Stomach cancer cannot be cured at home. Improving the patient's condition is possible when taking anticancer drugs, and strictly under the supervision of a doctor, but no "magic pills" or familiar products can stop the growth of atypical structures. And yet, do not neglect the recipes of folk healers: although the treatment of stomach cancer with folk methods is impossible, but they are great for strengthening immunity, which means they increase the body's ability to cope with trouble.
While undergoing treatment at the clinic, on the advice of a doctor, you can use general strengthening compounds, vitamins that increase immunity. Oncology is always a weakened immune system, therefore, immunomodulators are required. They can be taken at home, and not only while in the clinic, but by prior agreement with the doctor, otherwise you can harm yourself.
You should be extremely careful about reviews of the treatment of stomach cancer with folk remedies a la warming up. Doctors pay attention: thermal exposure is contraindicated, because it canstimulate active growth of the neoplasm. For the same reason, physiotherapy is prohibited.
Unfortunately, there is no such effective treatment of stomach cancer with folk remedies that would avoid surgery. Neglecting the doctor's recommendations, refusing the approaches of classical medicine in favor of healers' prescriptions, the patient thereby wastes his own time, worsening the prognosis, which is far from rosy in oncology. To improve your chances for the future, you should start the course of treatment prescribed by your doctor as soon as possible. If surgery is indicated, you need to undergo the procedure. If radiation and medication are recommended in addition, do not delay.
Oncology and nutrition
A mandatory condition of the therapeutic course for neoplasms in the stomach is a diet. You will have to adhere to a special nutrition program from the moment the diagnosis is made until the end of the rehabilitation period. Before the operation, it is necessary to provide a high content of protein and vitamins in the diet. Preference is given to products that are not capable of provoking an allergic reaction.
It is necessary to remember the importance of protein structures for the human body - these components are used by tissues and organs as a "building" material. Eating rationally, providing a constant supply of protein, you can give the body the necessary components for the rapid healing of wounds, including those received during surgery.
Protein deficiency in the body leads to slower healing, anastomotic failure. If the concentration failsprotein structures in the body through nutrition, intravenous infusions of amino acid solutions are shown. They resort to them quite often, since the specificity of the oncological disease is such that the digestibility of the protein obtained from food is quite low.
Features of the nutrition program
You will definitely have to follow the nutrition program prescribed by the doctor after the operation. If the lesion is absolute, subtotal, a gastrectomy is performed, doctors during the operation form a reservoir for food from the auxiliary tissues of the body. This dictates the rules of nutrition: you will have to consume small amounts of food, balancing the diet, taking into account all the necessary components:
- proteins;
- fat structures;
- vitamin complexes;
- mineral compounds;
- carbs.
On the first day after the operation, the patient is contraindicated to eat in order to avoid additional injuries to the stomach. To maintain the strength of the body, an intravenous infusion of nutrient compounds is prescribed. Self-feeding is usually allowed on the third or fourth day after the intervention. At first, food should be liquid, semi-liquid: low-fat broths on meat, special mixtures. Gradually, mashed potatoes and liquid cereals are introduced into the diet.
After discharge from the surgical department, the doctor tells the patient what rules to eat at home so that the recovery of the body is quick and successful. Auxiliary components are assigned to the main course of products. It is necessary to eat fractionally, per day - up to sevenonce. You will have to give up coarse food and foods that are difficult to digest. Substances that can irritate the gastrointestinal tract are prohibited. Eliminate:
- dairy products;
- sour;
- spicy;
- liquor;
- carbonated.
The ban is imposed on hot dishes.
After the operation and the rehabilitation period, the person is registered and regularly sent for esophagogastroduodenoscopy.
