Stomach Cancer and Healthy Diet

The causes of stomach cancer include the lack of proper nutrients through a healthy diet. This includes the exclusion of non-processed food such as natural and organic items. Fruits and vegetables are a necessary source of nutrients needed in order to avoid diseases such as stomach cancer. Smoking has also been linked as a root cause of stomach cancer. This is a common cause for many different types of cancer (Goodarz et al. 2005). Meats that have been processed such as bacon may increase the risk of stomach cancer. Mutations of the cell cause cancerous tumors to arise but with a diet rich on healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables the inner layer of the stomach will be protected by the antioxidants contained by the food. A minor number of stomach cancer patients can attribute their disease to mutations which they inherited from their parents. However. this inheritance only increases the likelihood of developing the disease, not necessarily completely contracting it (""What Causes Stomach Cancer?""). Other causes of stomach cancer are linked more to preexisting diseases such as obesity. Being overweight increases the risk of developing many diseases, including stomach cancer. Eating foods that are seasoned heavily with salt or other ingredients used for preserving increase the chances of hurting the lining of stomach and thus developing cancer in this region (""Stomach Cancer- Risk Factors"").

Stomach cancer can be detected through a variety of ways such as different imaging tests including CT and PET scans. Other tools used to find the cancerous areas include endoscopy, which involves a small camera inserted into the body to examine the internal origins. Different methods also include surgery which allows the doctors to survey the inside of the body on a deeper level than other tests. The symptoms that are included in stomach cancer include fatigue, pain, and weight loss (""Stomach Cancer."") Stomach cancer is popular among older populations because the ability to detect the disease is not as probable until the symptoms have manifested themselves inside of the patient. Other symptoms include indigestion and heartburn. Another way of detection is a Fecal Occult Blood Test. This procedure allows doctors to examine the fecal matter of patients to check for blood or other substances (UCSF Medical Center.)

Once the cancer is present in the stomach of the patient, the diseased cells begin in the lining of the stomach. After it has traveled beyond the walls of the stomach and into the bloodstream it can move to other areas of the body (GI Cancer.) In the case of the intestinal metaplasia, the cells in the lining of the stomach are swapped with cells that appear to be the identical cells of the stomach, but they are actually not the proper cells to be in this location. Chronic atrophic gastritis is the condition in which the stomach cells are injured by their own immune system (""What Causes Stomach Cancer?""). In the very common and well known stomach cancer known as Adenocarcinoma affects the epithelial tissue within the stomach. This version of stomach cancer affects the deepest layer of stomach tissue inside the body, and then the disease travels outwards (""Stomach Cancer Types""). The varying ways the stomach can be attacked include tumors known as stromal tumors and gastric cancer. Stromal tumors begin in the connective tissue of the tissue, unlike gastric cancer which begins in the first layer of the stomach known as the mucosa (""Gastric Cancer Treatment""). Cancer in the stomach region can also develop due to the presence of a bacteria known as H. pylori. This bacteria attacks the stomach lining. The amount of acid present in the stomach also appeared to directly affect one's chances of developing cancer in the stomach ( Calam, Baron 2001). In the case of Diffuse Stomach Cancer, small cells throughout the stomach region are infected with the disease. These varying cells do not group together, unlike most tumors. Instead, they remain separated which makes this specific type of cancer very difficult to detect due to its location among the cells (""After Diagnosis""). The location of the cancer is the basis in determining the degree of severity of the disease. Cells can be damaged and infected within the first layer or possibly more of the stomach before symptoms begin to truly affect the patient. Because of this, most people affected by stomach cancer are older in age because their symptoms have had time to fully appear inside of the body (""What is Stomach Cancer?""). The use of antibiotics also has been shown to affect the cells within the stomach. The increase of such medication may lead to the eventual end of noncardia gastric cancer (""Incidence of Lower Stomach Cancer in US Changing""). The type of stomach cancer known as sarcomas is the incidence in which the connective tissue including fat, muscle, and blood vessels are cancerous (""Stomach (Gastric) Cancer""). In this type of cancer, when the tumor begins to grow large enough, it can be felt inside the stomach. Due to this large size, it becomes the root cause for several other problems for the body. These problems include interfering with the bowels or hindering the operation of close by organs because its size its affecting their operation. For example, this effect is attributed to the tumor lying on blood vessels. The bowels can be affected and result in bloody stools due to the tumors (Signs and Symptoms of Soft Tissue Sarcomas""). In the case of primary gastric lymphoma, this disease is brought on by an error in the making of white blood cells, more specifically the lymphocytes. If these cells, lymphocytes, continue to produce at an above average rate a tumor may be formed by the cancerous white blood cells (""Primary Gastric Lymphoma"").

When cancer is first found in the stomach it will begin in the mucuso layer. It continues to spread by traveling through the other layers of the stomach, ending with the serosa layer. This is the outermost layer of the stomach. To be considered in its earliest ages, the cancer must still reside in the mucuso layer. After the cancer cells have traveled through all the layers within in the stomach it can then travel to the other organs including the colon and spleen. If the cancer cells have made their way to the bloodstream it has access to more distant organs such as the lungs (Roukos et al. 2002).

Treatments for stomach cancer are similar to the styles of treatment used for multiple types of cancer. These treatments include surgery, radiation, and portion control (""Stomach Cancer Symptoms and Treatments""). Mushrooms have also been found to aid in the treatment of several types of cancers, including stomach cancer. Specifically, PSK or Polysaccharide-K has shown promise in the treating and improving the quality of life in stomach cancer patients (Kidd 2000). The stages of the types of surgery are based on the severity of the cancer. The levels begin with removal of the small, minor tumors within the stomach, and the final stage would be removal of the entire stomach due to the growth of the cancer to an unmanageable level (""Stomach Cancer""). In the case of stomach cancer, surgery offers one of the most promising ways to totally eradicate the disease in the body. The surgeon may be able to fully remove the tumor if the cancer has not progressed very far in the stages. However, in the later stages the surgeon may only be able to remove a small portion of the tumor. In this situation, the section removed would be of benefit to the patient by lessening some of the symptoms such as bleeding or pain (""Surgery for Stomach Cancer""). Chemo is used at multiple times during the process of treating cancer. This timing includes prior to surgery and following surgery, if surgery presents itself as an option. Prior to surgery, chemo use allows the surgeon to remove a possibly smaller version of the original tumor. This size difference is due to the treatment of the tumor. The use of chemo following surgery allows the patient to still fight the disease if the surgery was not able to completely remove the disease In addition to chemo, certain drugs have been produced in order to fight specific areas or root causes of the disease. These drugs include: Trastuzumab, Ramucirumab, etc. These drugs may be injected into the veins. These particular drugs may accompany chemo. In certain, desperate situations they will be used when there is little hope remaining after several different medications have been tested and failed for a particular patient (""Targeted Therapies for Stomach Cancer""). Immunotherapy includes drugs that will positively affect the checkpoints within the body. By doing this, the immune system should be strengthened. These drugs are taken later in the stages of cancer, typically assisting other drugs (""Immunotherapy for Stomach Cancer"").

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