How is stomach cancer diagnosed?
Early detection is key to the successful treatment of stomach cancer. Gastroenterologist Robynne Chutkan, MD, discusses a simple test that can reveal whether or not you have this serious disease.
Transcript
You don't have to be a 75-year-old man to have stomach cancer. You can be a 35-year-old woman with stomach cancer.
So these are symptoms you absolutely need to pay attention to. [MUSIC PLAYING]
If you have persistent symptoms, if you have abdominal pain that's not going away with an antacid, if you're nauseated, feeling full, losing weight,
these are not symptoms you should ignore. You don't have to be a 75-year-old man to have stomach cancer. You can be a 35-year-old woman with stomach cancer.
So these are symptoms you absolutely need to pay attention to. Go to your doctor. Ask for a test called an upper endoscopy.
This is a test done by gastroenterologists. It's a very simple test. It takes literally 5 to 10 minutes to do.
We give you a light sedative. We take a long, flexible tube with a camera and a light on the end. It's inserted through the mouth, down the esophagus,
and into the stomach. We can see not just cancer. We can see ulcers. We can see precancerous lesions.
It's all about early diagnosis because early diagnosis of stomach cancer can be cured.
When we diagnose stomach cancer late, when it's spread to other organs, often we're just looking to release symptoms, and we can't do anything to cure the cancer at that stage.
So it's so important if you have symptoms, go to a doctor. Ask for this test. Be persistent.
Don't let anybody give you a pat on the head and say, you know, you just-- you're stressed out. You really need to pursue this if you
have these worrisome symptoms. [AUDIO LOGO]
digestive health
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