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Stomach cancer is expected to reach more than 27,000 new cases this year. More than 10,000 deaths are expected, as a result of the disease. Do you know what to expect? Do you know the warning signs and symptoms? Who does the diagnosis affect more?

Stomach cancer also known as Gastrointestinal Cancer. According to the National Institute of Health, it also includes liver, esophageal, pancreatic and colorectal cancers. As they continue to remain prevalent, doctors are seeing a continuous increase in their practices. Out of all cancers, gastrointestinal cancers represent more than a quarter of all cancer cases in the nation. In fact, research reveals that approximately 5 million new cases were seen in 2018. One of the biggest concerns most recently has been the increase in gastrointestinal cancers amongst a younger generation.

If you are 65 years old or older, the average age of diagnosis typically occurs around the age of 68 years of age. Unfortunately, the risk of developing stomach cancer is higher if you are a born male than a female. At the same time, there are still variations of risk factors. We all know by now that some habits are worse on our bodies than others. Smoking and consuming alcohol are still associated with the development of cancer. Your daily eating habits can also play a role, such as an unhealthy and unbalanced diet.

In life, we know that things change over time and new illnesses and diseases can occur or affect the population differently. As research continues to expand and grow, we have learned some things over the years about stomach cancer and how it has been growing over time. Even though specifically new cases of stomach cancer have been dropping by about 1.5% each year over the last 10 years in America, there is still a rise. Across the globe, it still remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the world.

Due to a change in food storage such as refrigeration, it's caused changes to preserving food. In fact, society today, typically we eat less salted and smoked foods than before when there was no such thing as a refrigerator in past eras. So, what are the symptoms of stomach cancer?

The American Cancer Society lists that some symptoms of gastric cancer are: poor appetite, unexplained weight loss, abdomen pain, vague discomfort in the stomach area, above the navel. It can also include the following symptoms:

•Nausea

• Vomiting, with or without food

• Swelling or a build-up of fluid in the abdomen

• Heart burn or indigestion

• Feeling full after a small meal

• Blood in your stool

• Excessive feeling of fatigue or weakness

• Jaundice: Yellowing of the skin and eyes

There is still hope, if you or a loved one have been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Treatment for the cancer has become less invasive and more effective than it was previously. According to Yale Medicine, if you end up having to have surgery, most are performed through tiny incisions with robotic assistance. This helps in both completing and recovering from surgery. At the end of it all, it improves the quality of life for patients.

All in all, always trust that gut feeling inside, that small voice in your head or just that things are making sense or adding up. Go see a doctor and get it checked out. It could possibly save your life. You don't want to wait until it's too late and then you find out that survival was an option, only if it had been caught at an early stage. Continuously taking over the counter medications could be a sign.

If you are reading this, let this serve as a reminder to go to your routine doctor's appointment. Don't you skip it, use it as a resource just like you get your car checked out at the service center, book and attend that appointment. It literally could be a life-saver.