Stomach cancer treatment largely depends on the stage the disease has reached. Surgery is an option any stage.

The purpose of surgery may be

* to remove the cancer itself, or
* to relieve discomfort from the symptoms of cancer.

The first step is normally a CT scan or a laparoscopy. This will help your doctor determine the stage.

However, it may be impossible to determine the stage without surgery because specimens may need to be taken from the stomach. But your doctor may not be able to tell you exactly how far the cancer has progressed with a lab analysis, and that requires getting a surgical sample from the stomach itself. A pathologist looks at the specimen under a microscope and makes a judgment which give the most accurate measure of the cancer stage.

Stomach cancer can sometimes be cured by removing the cancerous part of the stomach. The percentage of the stomach that will be removed depends of course, on where the tumor is located and how big it has grown.

A subtotal gastrectomy is a common surgical treatment for stomach cancer. This is when surgeon removes a part of the stomach, and possibly some lymph nodes. The procedure might also include removing the spleen.

If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes or to the liver, you may also need chemotherapy.

In some cases, surgery is performed to relieve symptoms. The goal is to give the patient a better quality of life for as long as possible. Surgery of this kind is typical if the tumor has blocked the entrance or exit areas of the stomach.

An important part of stomach cancer treatment is determining if the Helicobacter pylori bacterium is present in the stomach. Helicobacter pylori, which is also known as H. pylori, appears to be a cancer-causing agent. It's believed this bacterium damages the DNA in the cells of the stomach lining, which may eventually lead to a tumor. If H. pylori is discovered during the course of surgery, the doctor may prescribe an aggressive antibiotic therapy to kill it.

If the disease has reached an advanced stage, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy may be necessary in addition to surgery. Chemotherapy is intended to kill cancer cells or prevent them form dividing and growing. It can be done orally or intravenously. It can also be accomplished or by directly introducing the chemotherapy compounds into the spine, organs, abdominal cavity.

Chemoradiation, which is also called adjuvant therapy, combines radiation with chemotherapy.

There's a growing body of research into stomach cancer treatment. Some treatment regimens are considered standard, while others are experimental.

As always, it's best to work closely with a physician to determine the best possible course of treatment.

Ask a question, offer a tip to others about stomach by visiting the The Stomach Health Forum.

For more information on topics related to this article, click on Stomach Cancer.

George McKenzie is a retired TV anchor, medical reporter and radio talk show host. He is a frequent contributor to Health Information Articles, a resource site about health and wellness.

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Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases known to the world. There are various causes which are responsible for different types of cancer in different parts of the body. Mouth cancer is one of them. Unwanted growth of cells in the mouth region is termed as mouth cancer. It can be developed in any part of the mouth. This includes jaws, lips, gums, cheeks, tonsils, etc. All the mouth parts are covered by a sheet of soft cells called as squamous cells. These cells are very much prone to cancer cells thus causing mouth cancer. Mouth cancer can be also called as squamous cell carcinoma.

There is a wide range of causes which are responsible and many bad habits like smoking, tobacco chewing, in take of alcohol are the main causes of mouth cancer. Apart from these the other reasons for mouth cancer is exposure to UV rays, Candida infection in mouth etc. Lack of vitamin A, E, C, iron, zinc etc. is also responsible for mouth cancer. This can be diagnosed by a large number of symptoms. One can do a biopsy of the mouth to diagnose mouth cancer. Different technology like endoscopy, MRI scan, X-ray, CT scan can also be used for diagnosing mouth cancer.

Mouth cancer can be easily treated if diagnosed in an early stage or it can be said that treatment of cancer depends on the stage it is diagnosed in. There are three useful methods which have proved themselves helpful in treating mouth cancer. These include surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. During chemotherapy treatment is done using the intravenous injections containing the anticancer drugs. It is possible that the victim may experience some side effects of chemotherapy. These side effects can include hair loss, quick weight loss, mouth sores, nausea, vomiting etc. In radiation therapy beta rays are used for killing the deadly mouth cancer cells. This surgery is usually done when the tumor is small and gentle. Some physicians suggest all these three ways for the treatment of mouth cancer.

There are many steps which can be taken to minimize the risk and as stated above, mouth cancer is generally caused by the consumption of alcohol or due to cigarette smoking. So, by avoiding these things you can keep yourself less prone to mouth cancer. We can also reduce the risk by avoiding tobacco chewing as it is also one of the major causes of this deadly disease. One can remain away from mouth cancer by in taking a healthy diet. Taking a diet rich in vitamins and minerals can help in staying fit thus avoiding mouth cancer. Keeping mouth clean can also help in avoiding skin cancer.



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Nowadays chemotherapy is found to be the best treatment to kill cancer cells. A combination of different drugs is used to destroy major number of cancerous cells. Some side effects like weight loss, memory loss, hair fall, nausea and so on may occur due to chemotherapy treatment and these drugs can also damage healthy cells.

There are various types of cancers and every type requires different drugs at different stages. Before going through chemotherapy treatment, drugs used in it should be tested in clinical trials to prove its effectiveness. It's side effects also depend on other conditions like age and health of patient.

Following are the types of chemotherapy:

* Alkylating medications: Alkylating agents block DNA replication of cancer cells, which can destroy cancer cells at any phase of cancer. These drugs are commonly used for cancer of ovaries, breast and lungs. Some alkylating agents are alkylsulfonates: busulfan, metal carboplatin, oxalipaltin, salts: cispaltin and many more are used in chemotherapy treatment.
* Anti-tumor antibiotics: These are natural products produced by soil fungus streptomycin. Anti tumor antibiotics work during the multiple phases of cancer cell cycle. Some examples of anti-tumor antibiotics are mitomycin, plicamyacin, dactinomycin etc.
* Antimetabolite medications: It effectively blocks the enzymes found within the cancerous cells. Antimetabolite medication works by interfering with DNA and RNA growth. These drugs are very effective during Synthesis phase of cell cycle.
* Anti-tumor Antibiotic medications: It works interfering with DNA of cancerous cell. This interference blocks the enzymes and changes the cell membrane of cancerous cells and also interrupts cell division.
* Plant alkaloids: These are naturally produced from herbs and shrubs. Plant alkaloids like vinca, taxanes, paclitaxel, docetaxel, etc are used to treat cancer cells.
* Anthracyclines: Anthracyclines interfere with enzymes required to reproduce the DNA. Some anti-tumor antibiotics and non-particular antibiotics are used to cure different types of cancer. Doxorubicin, bleomycin and mitomycin are examples of some drugs used for chemotherapy treatment.
* Topoisomerase inhibitors: It plays important role in controlling the exploitation of DNA structure. Topotecan, etoposide phosphate, ironotecan and teniposide are some examples of drugs used during this type of chemotherapy treatment.



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Women and men around the world owe the vitality of their skin to moisturizers. However, the seemingly harmless cosmetics, moisturizers, could be a cause for developing skin cancer, suggests a recent study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

But are the results of the study a reason to be scared of moisturizers? Even though the study has surprised one and all, many have questioned the validity of the study and have expressed that there's no need to worry for now.

As always is the case, the mice used in the experiment have hogged all the limelight, when four randomly chosen moisturizing creams were applied on bald mice. Which later caused tumors to develop fast on these mice. And the mice not treated with moisturizers didn't show this effect.

The fact that bald mice were experimented upon and not humans means, that the findings aren't exactly applicable to humans. And the authors themselves put forth this very viewpoint. Another reason that goes against the study is that type of skin cancer found in humans is pretty different than those found in animals.

Further, one of the cream's manufacturers have been skeptical about the study and have opined that their product has been used for over 30 years with great results. At the same time, there are pointers that the components, namely mineral oil and sodium lauryl sulfate, known to cause irritation might be the culprits. Because when they were removed from the moisturizers the tumors didn't seem to develop so rapidly.

The non-melanoma skin cancer that developed is quite common in humans, and for the most part is curable surgically and with cancer drugs And it is fatal only rarely.
While, there's a lot of skepticism surrounding the study's findings, the findings can't be completely shunned outright. Perhaps the best option is to wait and watch as more research throws light on the issue. As the author's of the study have stated that this research should encourage experts to verify and have more conclusive evidence about the cancer risk moisturizers pose to humans.



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