The public should be more aware of stomach cancer and the dangers of a diet high in sodium, doctors said, highlighting the case of an 18-year-old who died of stomach cancer after developing a habit of late night snacking on instant noodles for four years.
The teen sought medical treatment after experiencing abdominal bloating and nausea, and was diagnosed with stage four cancer.
Although he underwent treatment, he died a year after being diagnosed, National Cheng Kung University director of hemato-oncology Yen Chia-jui (顏家瑞) said.
Yen said that the teen’s family has a history of colorectal cancer and that the youth suffered from high stress for a long period of time, as well as consuming large quantities of high-sodium foods, factors that are believed to have contributed to his cancer.
“The public should try to reduce their intake of pickles or foods prepared through smoking, curing or roasting, or foods treated with nitrites, such as ham and sausages,” Yen said.
Early stage stomach cancer has few obvious symptoms and is easily overlooked by people so that 40 percent of all stomach cancer patients are only diagnosed after their condition has advanced to stage three, which has an average five-year survival rate of between 30 percent and 50 percent, Yen said.
Initial symptoms are similar to those of minor gastric complaints, such as bloating, poor digestion and low appetite, and patients often delayed seeing a doctor until their appetite or body weight has dropped to an alarming degree, which tends not to occur in gastric cancer patients until it is already too late for effective treatment, Yen said.
Gastroenterological Society of Taiwan president Lin Jaw-town (林肇堂), citing a study by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said that in 2013, stomach cancer was the seventh-highest cause of cancer in the nation, with 3,768 patients, and ranked fifth in terms of cancerous mortality that year with 2,241 deaths.
The high mortality rate of stomach cancer has remained “more or less a constant” in the past 10 years, mainly because diagnosis usually occurs at an advanced stage, Lin said.
Yen said that the five-year survival rate for stage one stomach cancer is 90 percent and for stage two it is 70 percent, but by stage three the rate drops to between 30 percent and 50 percent and for stage four patients it is less than 10 percent.
To illustrate the difference early detection makes, Yen cited the case of an 82-year-old who suffered from bloating and indigestion that he thought was the result of a minor complaint.
The man was convinced to go to a private clinic owned by a friend of his son, where he was diagnosed with stomach cancer, but following surgery to remove his stomach and then chemotherapy, the man made a full recovery and is in good condition, Yen said.
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