Benefits of routine screening for stomach cancerScreening process plays a very crucial role when it comes to finding cancer at its early stages. If the doctor finds abnormal tissues or cancer at its early stage, treating the disease can be easy. When the symptoms start showing, the cancer might already be spreading to other places thus making it hard very hard to tame.

Scientists have been doing a lot of research in their effort of trying to gain a better understanding of cancer. Research is also being focused on what people do and things surrounding them to ascertain their potential of causing cancer. Doctors make use of this information to recommend people to go for screening, the kind of screening tests they will use and the frequency of the tests. You are advised to keep in mind the fact that just because the doctor suggests that you go for a screening test doesn’t imply that you have cancer. You will get the screening tests when you even don’t have any symptoms of cancer.

If abnormal results are obtained after the test, more tests are going to be done as a way of finding out if you indeed have cancer and this is referred to as diagnostic tests.

About stomach cancer

Stomach cancer usually results from malignant/ cancer cells forming the stomach lining. Actually, the stomach comes with a J- shape and the organ is located at the upper abdomen and as a part of digestive system, it is responsible for processing nutrients for eaten foods and the waste material is then passed out of body. Esophagus is a muscular, hollow tube whereby the food moves to the stomach from the throat. In U.S, stomach cancer is essentially a rare type of cancer but it is more prevalent in other parts of world such as Europe and Asia.

Risk factors for stomach cancer

Chronic conditions and older age increase the risk of one suffering from stomach cancer. Having various medical conditions like Helicobacter pylori, chronic gastric atrophy, pernicious anemia, stomach polyps and intestinal metaplasia puts you at an even more risk of getting the cancer. Also, if your close relative had been diagnosed with stomach factor, this also increases your risk of getting the disease as well.

Stomach cancer screening tests

There are a couple of tests used to screen if one has stomach cancer. When stomach cancer is detected early, there is a high chance of one surviving as it becomes easier to treat it before it progresses. There is no routine or standard screen test that exists for stomach cancer. Some of the screening tests your doctor may recommend include barium- meal photofluorography, upper endoscopy, and serum pepsinogen levels, etc. It is also worth noting that screening tests also come with their risks as well and not all of them are helpful as such.