Although stomach cancer is a severe and potentially life-threatening disease, there are treatments and options available to those who suffer from the disease. Because the severity of cases of stomach cancer varies, the ways that stomach cancer can be treated vary as well.
Surgeries
Surgery is one of the primary treatments for stomach cancer and involves removing tumors from the stomach along with a portion of the surrounding healthy tissue. Some surgeries are use a lighted tube with a camera on it called an endoscope; this option is often used for small cancers on the inner lining of the stomach.
A more drastic surgery is called a total gastrectomy, in which the stomach is completely removed. After the stomach has been taken out, the esophagus and the small intestine are directly connected to each other in order to allow food to move through the digestive system.
A person who has advanced cancer can get some relief from symptoms by having all or part of his stomach removed. While such a procedure might help with symptoms, it cannot cure the person of cancer at this late stage of the disease.
Radiation
Radiation therapy is another treatment available to stomach cancer sufferers. The high-powered beams that are used as a part of this procedure are able to kill some of the cancerous cells. This therapy can also be done before a surgery occurs to help shrink stomach tumors, making them easier to remove. Patients in the advanced stages of cancer sometimes undergo radiation therapy in an effort to provide relief to the side effects that are caused by large tumors. Although radiation therapy can provide help, it comes with some side effects as well, including nausea, indigestion, vomiting and diarrhea.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy kills cancer cells in the stomach by using chemicals. This treatment is particularly helpful beacuse the compounds used can travel throughout the body and kill cancer cells anywhere. This is important for those people who have cancer cells that may have spread outside of the stomach. Chemotherapy can be used before and after a surgery and is often used concurrently with radiation therapy.
