All you need to know about Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer, or gastric cancer, is a relatively uncommon type of cancer that affects about 7,300 people each year in the UK, colorectal cancer can cause similar symptoms, hemorrhoids are far more common. As uncomfortable as hemorrhoids can be, with Venapro is a natural remedy for hemorrhoids. In other words, it does not contain strong pharmaceutical ingredients like painkillers and anti-inflammatories, is easily treatable and don’t cause cancer. 

The initial symptoms of stomach cancer are vague and easy to mistake for other less serious conditions. They include:

  • persistent indigestion and heartburn
  • trapped wind and frequent burping
  • feeling very full or bloated after meals
  • persistent stomach pain

Symptoms of advanced stomach cancer can include:

  • blood in your stools, or black stools
  • loss of appetite
  • weight loss

As the early symptoms are similar to many conditions, stomach cancer is often advanced by the time it’s diagnosed. Therefore, it’s important to get any possible symptoms of stomach cancer checked out by your GP as soon as possible.

Who is affected

The exact cause of stomach cancer is still unclear, although a number of factors that increase your risk of developing the condition have been identified. These include:

  • being aged 55 or older
  • being male
  • smoking
  • eating a diet that contains a lot of salted and pickled foods
  • having an infection in your stomach due to a type of bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)

Types of stomach cancer

There are different types of stomach cancer. 95% develop in the cells of the stomach lining and are known as adenocarcinoma of the stomach.

Less common types include lymphoma of the stomach, which develops in the lymphatic tissue (tissue that drains away fluid and helps fight infection) and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GISTs), which develop in the muscle or connective tissue of the stomach wall.

How stomach cancer is treated

Many cases of stomach cancer cannot be completely cured, but it is still possible to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life using chemotherapy and, in some cases, radiotherapy and surgery.

Surgery to remove some or all of the stomach is known as a gastrectomy. You will still be able to eat normally after a gastrectomy, but you will probably have to adjust the size of your portions.

Chemotherapy can also be used before surgery to help shrink the tumour and sometimes after surgery to help prevent the cancer from returning.

Living with stomach cancer

Living with stomach cancer and then the effects of surgery can be tough, but there are a range of services that can provide social, psychological and, in some cases, financial support.

Outlook

The outlook for stomach cancer depends on several things, including your age, general health and how far the cancer has spread before it’s diagnosed. Unfortunately, as stomach cancer is often not picked up until the later stages, the outlook is not as good as for some other cancers.

Overall, around 15% of people with stomach cancer will live at least five years after diagnosis and about 11% will live at least 10 years.

In the UK, around 5,000 people die from stomach cancer each year.

The stomach

The stomach is a hollow sac of muscle that is connected to the oesophagus (gullet) at its top and the first section of the small intestine (duodenum) at its bottom.

Its main purpose is to break down solid food into a semi-solid consistency using stomach acid. This makes it easier for the rest of the digestive system to absorb nutrients from food.

#FumbleFriday Hits The Road

At the end of March and to launch our Testicular cancer awareness month of April we took our #FumbleFriday campaign on the road to the Students Union of Birmingham University.

We wanted to see if men could describe the feel of their balls and found that the male students were a little shy and it took the girls to push the lads to get involved. Embarrassment  is the main problem with testicular cancer diagnosis and was clear that men didn’t even want to talk about them.

However as you will see below we eventually got there. Hopefully we will be able to do this nationwide!!

Thanks to all that took part

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Toms #MakingMemories story

Thanks to the support of our #Teamnuts we were able to give terminally ill Tom Cooper, his wife and two young children a brilliant Birthday night out and meal at his favorite restaurant Bombay Hut  in Burnley.

We also supplied them a brand new washing machine when theirs broke down.

Please read Toms story…..

“Just as everything was looking bright and promising, our worlds came tumbling down in October 2011 when I was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma – a rare type of cancer in this country that is behind the nose. On the same day we were also told it had already spread to the neck, collar bone, lymph nodes under both arms and lungs. I was told that I had probably had it at least 2 years already and that it was not curable. Devastating news, very hard to hear and life has been very difficult since, but looking at my two beautiful girls…. They keep me and my family going, and that’s the reason were fighting this strong TOGETHER!! ♥”

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Gay Times raise the bar on Male Cancer Awareness

Last \December the Gay Times launched one of two issues of their brilliant magazines dedicated to our charity and by asking celebrities to pose nude to raise awareness for the work we do and male cancer. Also they enabled their readers to download a screen saver version of the pictures by texting their favourites name to our text donation line and doing so made a donation.

We thank them an you for your support. Here’s some of the brilliant celebrities that were brave enough to take part.

jordanTommyMalletSamReeceSamCallahanMissSaigonMidnightBeastMarcusCollinsMarcoLoughranMammaMiaLewisBloorKameelionJamesMichaelPhilJohnPerrySTUARTSAMROSSJOSSRICCIMATTHEWMATTLUKELOUISKYLEJOESJAYJAMESLJAMESIJACKIAINGEORGEFREDDIECHARLIECALUMBOBBY

#RealityCheck throughout April

During April  (Testicular cancer awareness month) we were working hard to push  awareness of the dangers of Testicular cancer in men and boys with our #RealityCheck campaign . With the help of many TV reality stars we managed to get into several magazines, more online publications and a brilliant Twitter and Facebook campaigns getting the message to many more people.

Behind the scenes we were aided by the fantastic Tom O’Connell (former Big Brother contestant)

This particular post by Spencer Mattthews & Lauren Hutton got us mentioned by OK magazine as they thought the comment by Lauren was “distasteful” we certainly don’t agree with that, partners are the ones that often find changes in their partners bodies.

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We got our good friend Harry Derbidge interviews discussing the findings of our survey that more men are concerned about their tan, hair and teeth before their testicles.

We had stars like Carl Foggerty,Ricky Rayment, Nicholas McDonald, Stuart Hosking, Harry Derbidge, Kris  Skinner,Sam Thompson, Shayne Ward, Brian Dowling & Mark Bryon

 

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Jayne’s Welcome Break

As part of our #MakingMemories campaign we have a luxury holiday home on the Haven Holiday park in Burnham-on-sea for cancer fighters.

Jayne is the first of this seasons fighters who have taken advantage of the break to take her family on a much needed break as part of cancer recovery.

Jayne tells us the whole family had a brilliant time and we hope goes someway to putting Jayne on the road to recovery.

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Tony gets his Dream Day

As part of our #MakingMemories campaign we arranged for Tony to have the day of his dreams and forfil his #Bucketlist wish of visiting his favourite formula 1 racing team Williams.

Tony has been fighting cancer for some time and is currently receiving radiotherapy. Tony’s fiance Sue told us “it was one of the happiest days of his life”

This is what the #MakingMemories campaign is all about.

Here’s a few photo’s of the day.

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Masato Jones Bank Holiday Fundraiser

The fabulous designer Masato Jones are holding a May bank holiday fundraising weekend for us. For every full price tee shirt bought over the weekend they will very kindly donate £5 to our campaign.

Please help them, help us, help you. Thank you

Please click here to get involved today!!

BTC Football kits

Balls to Cancer have teamed up with the brilliant ev2sportswear.com  to bring you new football kits with shirts. shorts, socks, shirt number and sponsors name for the fantastic price of £27 + VAT. EV2 Sportswear have very kindly offered to donate £1 per kit to the charity but more importantly for us, they will print the Balls to cancer logo on every shirt to help you help us promote the charity and the importance to check for cancer.

So please visit the website design your kit and email your enquiry/order to mark@ballstocancer.com and a copy to sales@ev2sportswear.co.uk

Show your supporters, friends & family the importance of male cancer awareness

Oral Cancer

Mouth cancer, also known as oral cancer, is where a tumourdevelops on the surface of the tongue, mouth, lips or gums.

Tumours can also occur in the salivary glands, tonsils and the pharynx (the part of the throat from your mouth to your windpipe) but these are less common.

Symptoms of mouth cancer include:

  • red or white patches on the lining of your mouth or tongue
  • ulcers
  • a lump

See your GP if these symptoms do not heal within three weeks, especially if you’re a heavy drinker or smoker.

Types of mouth cancer

A cancer that develops on the inside or outside layer of the body is called a carcinoma and these types of cancer are categorised by the type of cells the cancer starts in. Your smile is one of the first things others notice. Cosmetic dentistry can so easily, so affordably, so dramatically transform your entire look, and Dr. Wagner is experienced at preforming number of treatments depending on your wants, needs and goals. Sometimes fixing minor imperfections like cracks, chips and gaps with porcelain veneers can completely change everything. Other times, a simple whitening might be all you need to transform your look and outlook on life. you can learn about dental implants here at this site.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of mouth cancer, accounting for nine out of 10 cases. Squamous cells are found in many places around the body, including the inside of the mouth and under the skin.

Less common types of mouth cancer include:

  • oral malignant melanoma – where the cancer starts in cells called melanocytes, which help give skin its colour
  • adenocarcinomas – cancers that develop inside the salivary glands

What causes mouth cancer?

Mouth cancer occurs when something goes wrong with the normal cell lifecycle, causing them to grow and reproduce uncontrollably.

Image Dental describes next risk factors for developing mouth cancer include:

  • smoking or using products that contain tobacco
  • drinking alcohol – smokers who are also heavy drinkers have a much higher risk compared to the population at large
  • infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV), the virus that causes genital warts

Who is affected by mouth cancer?

Mouth cancer is an uncommon type of cancer, accounting for one in 50 of all cancer cases.

In the UK, just over 6,767 new cases of mouth cancer were diagnosed in 2011 (the latest reliable data).

Most cases of mouth cancer first develop in older adults who are between 50-74 years of age.

Mouth cancer can occur in younger adults, but it’s thought that HPV infection may be responsible for the majority of cases that occur in younger people.

Mouth cancer is more common in men than in women. This is thought to be due to the fact that, on average, men drink more alcohol than women.

Treating mouth cancer

There are three main treatment options for mouth cancer. They are:

  • surgery – where the cancerous cells are surgically removed and, in some cases, some of the surrounding tissue
  • chemotherapy – where powerful medications are used to kill cancerous cells
  • radiotherapy – where high energy X-rays are used to kill cancerous cells

These treatments are often used in combination. For example, a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy may be given after surgery to help prevent the cancer returning.

Complications of mouth cancer

Both surgery and radiotherapy can make speaking and swallowing difficult (dysphagia).

Dysphagia can be a potentially serious problem. If small pieces of food enter your airways and become lodged in your lungs, it could trigger a chest infection, known as aspiration pneumonia.

Reducing the risk

The three most effective ways to prevent mouth cancer from developing – or prevent it reocurring after successful treatment – are:

  • not smoking
  • keeping to the recommended weekly limits for alcohol consumption (21 units for men and 14 units for women
  • eating a ‘Mediterranean-style diet’, with plenty of fresh vegetables (particularly tomatoes), citrus fruits, olive oil and fish

It’s also important that you have regular dental check-ups because dentists can often spot the early stages of mouth cancer. Visiting one of these dental clinics near Newington, can do a scraping and test it for cancer.

Outlook

If mouth cancer is diagnosed early, a complete cure is often possible using a combination of radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery. So, once again you should remember to visit dentist regularly to make sure everything is fine. If you are looking for a good dental services, go to Alaska Dental Associates website for details.

The outlook for mouth cancer can vary depending on which part of the mouth is affected and whether it has spread from the mouth into surrounding tissue. The outlook is much better if the cancer is diagnosed early.

Overall, an estimated 40% of people with cancer affecting the mouth and pharyx will live at least five years after their diagnosis and many people live much longer. However, the outlook is better for cancer affecting certain areas of the mouth, such as the lip, tongue or oral cavity.

Interesting fact: find out more about porcelain veneers.