Is gastric cancer painless or itchy in the early stage? 4 abnormalities appear after meals, pay more attention, or gastric cancer is coming

Uncle Wang accompanied his wife Sister Liu to the hospital for a gastroenteroscopy examination last month. When he saw his wife undergoing a painless gastroscope colonoscopy examination, he only slept for a few minutes before the examination was completed. For peace of mind, Uncle Wang also made an appointment for himself. A painless gastroscopy.

After careful examination, the doctor found that there was a small piece of mucosal color change in his gastric antrum, the lesion was only 1-2 mm small, and the biopsy pathological examination confirmed signet ring cell carcinoma.

Signet ring cell carcinoma is a highly malignant gastric cancer. It is easy to metastasize in the early stage and often has no symptoms. Once symptoms appear, it is in the advanced stage and the survival time is very short.

Fortunately, through this gastroscopy, Uncle Wang discovered it very early, and the lesion was limited to the superficial layer of the gastric mucosa. The tumor was resected through gastroscopy, and the intact stomach was preserved.

Uncle Wang sighed unceasingly, this time he encountered "good luck" by chance, if the illness was delayed, the consequences would be unimaginable...

1. Why is gastric cancer diagnosed at an advanced stage?

Gastric cancer ranks among the top three malignant tumors in China, and China is also the country with the highest incidence of gastric cancer in the world. If the cancer is found early, the 5-year survival rate of gastric cancer can reach more than 95%, and it can even be cured. However, if it is discovered in the middle and late stages, the 5-year cure rate is only nearly 40%.

However, as far as the current incidence of gastric cancer in China is concerned, most patients are only diagnosed in the middle and late stages of gastric cancer.

It turns out that early gastric cancer lesions are not particularly obvious, and the manifestations of precancerous gastric lesions are often atypical, mainly abdominal distension, abdominal pain, acid reflux, heartburn, nausea and vomiting, etc. These symptoms are similar to chronic gastritis, and people are not easy to detect.

2. Is gastric cancer painless or itchy in the early stage? Don't ignore these symptoms

The early symptoms of gastric cancer are not specific, and are easily confused with common gastric diseases such as gastritis and gastric ulcer. If you find that patients with stomach problems have the following 5 symptoms, you should pay great attention to them.

1. Stomach pain

For superficial gastritis or gastric ulcer, the abdominal pain at the onset has its own characteristics. Generally, there is pain about 1 hour after a meal, and it will be relieved after a while. If the pain appears irregularly, you need to be alert to the possibility of cancer.

2. Weight loss

Patients with stomach problems have weakened digestion ability and are prone to symptoms such as loss of appetite, diarrhea, and fatigue. However, if there are obvious changes in the body in a short period of time, the body's absorption of food will be hindered, the weight will drop rapidly, and the body will become thinner, which may be caused by tumors.

3. Black stools appear

If patients with stomach problems have unexplained black stools, it may indicate gastric ulcer bleeding or canceration, and they should go to the hospital for further examination and carefully identify them.

4. Heartburn and acid reflux

Refers to a burning sensation that occurs near the lower part of the breastbone, commonly known as the "heart socket". When the phenomenon of heartburn and acid reflux occurs repeatedly, it is likely that the gastric acid secretion disorder caused by the tumor should be paid attention to.

3. Helicobacter pylori is the "curse" of gastric cancer, how to prevent it?

The high incidence of gastric cancer in China is partly due to Helicobacter pylori. According to statistics, China is a country with a very high infection rate of Helicobacter pylori, and Helicobacter pylori is an important pathogenic factor of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer, and is related to gastric cancer.

In 1994, the World Health Organization listed Helicobacter pylori as a class 1 carcinogen and identified it as a risk factor for gastric cancer. Of course, this does not mean that people infected with Hp will definitely suffer from stomach problems and even stomach cancer.

Most Hp infected people do not get sick, 15% to 20% can develop peptic ulcer, and less than 1% can develop gastric cancer . In addition to the "troubleshooting" of Hp, gastric cancer is also related to genetic factors, weak immunity, and poor lifestyle.

The infection rate of Helicobacter pylori is mainly related to daily eating habits, so how to prevent it in daily life?

1. Use serving chopsticks

Chinese people are used to eating together. If there are multiple chopsticks on the table, it is easy to cause the spread of germs. Therefore, it is best to use serving chopsticks and spoons when dining out, or bring your own tableware.

2. Try to eat less raw food

Although raw food such as sashimi and salad has a unique flavor, Helicobacter pylori can attach to raw meat. Without high-temperature cooking, the bacteria cannot be eliminated, and lead to Helicobacter pylori infection through the human gastrointestinal tract.

Therefore, you must pay attention to your daily diet, the food should be thoroughly cooked before you put it in your mouth, and eat less half-cooked food.

3. The taste is lighter

Spicy food, tobacco and alcohol, and pickled food are likely to irritate the gastric mucosa, reduce gastrointestinal resistance, and increase the chance of Helicobacter pylori invasion.

4. No mouth-to-mouth feeding

Many parents like to test the temperature with their tongues when feeding their children, or chew the food before feeding, so that the children are likely to be infected with Helicobacter pylori through the parents' saliva.

Although gastric cancer is a high incidence, as long as it is detected as early as possible, it is very likely to be cured. Therefore, high-risk groups of gastric cancer must have regular check-ups, and if they experience short-term stomach discomfort or unexplained weight loss, fatigue, black stools and other symptoms, they should also go to the hospital in time.

References:

[1] "Once gastric cancer is discovered, is it in the middle and late stage? There is only one way to stay away from gastric cancer! ". Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. 2021-06-28

[2] "5 symptoms suggest that gastric cancer is "knocking on the door", timely physical examination can save your life". Life Times. 2020-06-13

[3] "Over 700 million people are positive! A well-known male star has this disease, and the whole family must be treated if one person is infected... ". Popular Science China. 2022-01-05

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