Stomach Cancer Essay

While heart disease is the number one cause of death in the United States, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. It is not limited to age either. One can be 25 or 52. There are many forms of cancer. One form of cancer is stomach cancer. Stomach cancer has its own unique description, set of risk factors and lifestyle choices that can reduce its risk.

Stomach cancer (also known as gastric cancer) is a disease in which the cells forming the inner lining of the stomach become abnormal and start to divide uncontrollably forming mass called a tumor (Cherath, L. R., & Krinch, B. (2011). Stomach Cancer. In L. J. Fundukian (Ed.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (4th ed., Vol. 5, pp. 4136-4140). It is a slow growing cancer that often goes unnoticed until it has reached a late stage, causing it to have a lower survival rate than many other cancers.

Stomach cancer has risk factors that are controllable and that are uncontrollable. The risk factors for stomach cancers that are controllable are tobacco smoking and excessive amounts of alcohol. Diet is also a controllable risk factor. Consuming large amounts of high sodium foods such as salted, smoked or pickled foods should be avoided at all cost. Eating the right amounts of fruits and vegetables can reduce your risk of stomach cancer, as well as, other cancers. Taking supplements may also help reduce a person’s risk. Reporting in the October issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, researchers reported that taking vitamin C supplements may lower the risk of common types of stomach cancer by 40 percent. Vitamin C users had a 40 percent lower risk of cancer in the middle and lower parts of the stomach. (Meschino, J. (2002). Vitamin C supplementation reduces risk of stomach cancer. Dynamic Chiropractic, 20(1), 26.) Uncontrolled risk factors are having a history of stomach disorders, such as ulcers and polyps. Certain cancers, including stomach cancer, appear to run in families....