At Orange County CyberKnife, we put our patients’ health and well-being above everything else. As a world-class cancer treatment facility serving patients throughout the Orange County, CA area, we offer convenient, safe, and effective cancer treatment through the CyberKnife radiation therapy system. We’re proud to treat a wide variety of cancerous conditions at our facility, and if you or a loved one have been diagnosed with esophageal or stomach cancer, we’re here to help.
The esophagus is a long, muscular tube connecting the trachea and the stomach, allowing food to pass down from the mouth to the stomach for digestion. The esophagus has muscles at either end which open and close to allow food to pass from the throat into the esophagus and on into the stomach. At the bottom of the esophagus, this muscle also serves to prevent stomach acids from leaking into the esophagus. If this muscle fails to function properly and acid does escape into the esophagus, it causes reflux, more commonly called heartburn. Chronic reflux puts the tissues at the bottom of the esophagus at a much higher risk of developing esophageal cancer, a condition called Barrett’s esophagus.
Esophageal cancer takes two forms: adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Adenocarcinoma makes up slightly more than 50% of cases, and it occurs in the glands at the bottom of the esophagus. Squamous cell carcinoma occurs in the top layer of the esophageal lining, and it may develop anywhere in the esophagus.
While esophageal cancer is fairly uncommon (accounting for only 1% of cancer cases in the US), it’s one of the more serious forms of cancer. The aggregate five-year survival rate for survival cancer is just 18%, although part of that is because esophageal cancer is often not diagnosed until it’s progressed and spread to other parts of the body. With prompt diagnosis and treatment, it’s possible to eliminate esophageal cancer.
Scientists don’t understand the exact causes of esophageal cancer, but there are a number of factors that can increase risk:
After food passes through the esophagus, it enters the stomach, where it’s digested. Cancers of the stomach can take a variety of different forms, and they may have very different effects depending on what part of the stomach they originate in. It’s important to note that in medicine, the term “stomach” refers only to the actual organ. While some people may say they have a “stomach ache,” a doctor might instead call this abdominal pain, as the pain may originate in the appendix, intestine, colon, liver, or the stomach itself.
Adenocarcinoma is by far the most common form of stomach cancer, accounting for up to 95% of cases. This cancer begins in the innermost lining of the stomach, a layer called the mucosa. Other forms of stomach cancer include lymphoma, which develops in the stomach wall, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, which also start in the stomach wall, or carcinoid tumors, which start in the cells of the stomach that make hormones. Stomach cancer affects some 28,000 people each year, and 60% of cases are diagnosed in patients over 65 years old.
A number of factors can increase a patient’s risk of developing stomach cancer, including:
Fighting cancer of any kind is scary – but no matter what you’re up against, you’re never fighting alone. At Orange County CyberKnife, we strive to provide comprehensive, compassionate cancer care to our patients, and the state-of-the-art CyberKnife system makes cancer treatment more effective and less disruptive than ever. If you’d like to find out more about the services we offer or schedule an appointment for a consultation or second opinion, we would be thrilled to hear from you. Call us today at 714.962.7100 for more information about our treatment center and services, or reach out to us at our contact page to schedule an appointment. We look forward to helping you beat cancer and reclaim a healthy, happy lifestyle – no matter what you’re fighting or what the odds.
In cancer care, different types of doctors often work together to create a patient’s overall treatment plan that combines different types of treatments. This is called a multidisciplinary team. For stomach cancer, the team of doctors may include a gastroenterologist, who is a doctor who specializes in the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestines, a surgeon, a medical oncologist, and a radiation oncologist. Cancer care teams also include a variety of other health care professionals, including physician assistants, oncology nurses, social workers, pharmacists, counselors, dietitians, and others.
Stomach cancer may be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy. Descriptions of these common treatment options for stomach cancer are listed below. Often, a combination of these treatments is used. It can be difficult to cure stomach cancer because it is often not detected until it is at an advanced stage.
Treatment options and recommendations depend on several factors, including the type and stage of cancer, possible side effects, and the patient’s preferences and overall health. Your care plan may also include treatment for symptoms and side effects, an important part of cancer care. Take time to learn about all of your treatment options and be sure to ask questions about things that are unclear. Also, talk about the goals of each treatment with your doctor and what you can expect while receiving the treatment.
The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) developed the TNM staging system for evaluating the extent and spread of stomach cancer. The staging process is a basis for selecting treatment options and helping doctors communicate potential outcomes (prognosis). The TNM system considers three important factors:
Each of these categories are rated on a numbered scale, the higher the number indicates increased severity. These categories are then grouped into stomach cancer stages from 0IV.
Stomach cancer is when cancer cells begin growing in the stomach. Because stomach cancer is rare, doctors do not do routine screening in the United States. Stomach cancer is often diagnosed in its later stages because there are often no symptoms early in the disease. This makes it harder to cure. Stomach cancer is becoming rare as methods of preparing and preserving food continue to improve. Stomach ulcers, which are very common, are not the same as stomach cancer.
It is found mostly in people between their late 60s and 80s. Stomach cancer is more common in men than in women. The disease is more common in Hispanic Americans and AfricanAmericans than in nonHispanic whites. Stomach cancer is also more common in some parts of the world, such as Japan, China, parts of Southern and Eastern Europe, and South and Central America.
Certain factors may make one person more likely to get stomach cancer than another person. These are called risk factors. But just because a person has one or more risk factors does not mean that person will get stomach cancer. In fact, a person can have all of the risk factors and not get the disease. Or, a person can have no known risk factors and still get stomach cancer:
People with early stomach cancer, meaning it is small and has not spread, do not usually have symptoms or signs of the cancer. But, as the cancer grows, it can cause these symptoms:
A person should see the doctor if they are having any of these symptoms. The symptoms are most often a sign of something other than stomach cancer, but it is important to make sure.
To find out the cause of any of the signs or symptoms, a doctor does a careful physical exam and asks about the personal and family medical history. The doctor may also order these tests to make a diagnosis:
Treatment depends on the size and spread of the cancer. A person with stomach cancer may have one or more of these treatments:
Many people with cancer get a second opinion from another doctor. There are many reasons to get a second opinion. Here are some of those reasons:
There are many ways to get a second opinion:
There are two kinds of surgeries to remove stomach cancer. One kind removes only the portion of the stomach that contains cancer. This is called a partial gastrectomy. The other removes the whole stomach, and is called total gastrectomy.Which type a person gets, or if they get surgery at all, depends on the stage and type of stomach cancer they have.
A person who has surgery for stomach cancer will likely meet with a registered dietitian to discuss what they can and cannot eat during and after treatment.
After a partial gastrectomy,where only part of the stomach is removed, most people will be able to eat much the same way they did before. Although they may have to make some changes to the way they eat.
A person who has had a total gastrectomy has had their whole stomach removed. They still swallow and eat in the same way because their surgeon connects the esophagus to the small intestine. The surgeon may place a small feeding tube, called a jejunostomy (Jtube), into the small intestine at the time of surgery. Nutrition is given through this tube for a while after surgery during recovery. Diet changes are also needed after total gastrectomy. Most people who have their stomachs removed find that they prefer to eat small meals more often, rather than large meals three times a day.
Cancer research should give you hope. Doctors and researchers around the world are learning more about what causes stomach cancer, and are looking for ways to prevent it. They are also finding better ways to detect and treat this disease.