"Today's braised pork has some secret sauce added, and the taste is absolutely superb!" Aunt Li proudly shows her masterpiece to her family.
The family members laughed and praised: "Your craftsmanship is really speechless, this taste is really amazing." ”
However, recently, the Li family of four has begun to feel frequent pain in the upper abdomen, and they don't even like to eat braised pork. They vaguely felt that something was wrong and decided to go to the hospital for a check-up.
The doctor looked at the examination report in his hand and sighed helplessly: "You are all stomach cancer, which is inseparable from heavy diets." ”
1. Gastritis is only 3 steps away from gastric cancer
Since 2010, cancer has been the leading cause of death in China, with stomach cancer at the top of the list.
Middle-aged and elderly people are the "preferred" group of gastric cancer. There are data showing that the incidence and mortality of gastric cancer increases with age, especially peaking in the age group over 60 years old.
Many people think that gastric cancer is still far away from them, but in fact, there are only 3 steps from gastritis to gastric cancer: chronic superficial gastritis → atrophic gastritis → intestinal metaplasia or dysplasia → gastric cancer.
Chronic superficial gastritis is the starting point of gastric cancer. Among all stomach diseases, chronic gastritis is the most common incidence. Data shows that more than half of the people on the mainland have it. In the primary stage, the gastric mucosa is mildly damaged, and if it is controlled promptly, the damage can be reversed.
Over time, chronic superficial gastritis develops into chronic atrophic gastritis. The gastric mucosa thins and the gastric glands shrink or disappear. At this point, the damage has become irreversible.
When gastritis occurs frequently, the gastric mucosa is also repeatedly undergoing the process of damage and repair, allowing cells that should be only in the intestine to appear in the stomach, that is, "intestinal metaplasia". This is thought to be a sign of precancerous changes because these cells do not contain certain enzymes that allow carcinogens to build up and cause cancer to develop.
After the development of the previous stages, stomach cancer begins to "take root" in our body.
Although, not all gastritis will develop into stomach cancer, the above steps are all key precancerous lesions.
Therefore, it is very important to detect stomach cancer in time at an early stage, but unfortunately, most people lack the awareness of regular check-ups, and once found, they have entered an advanced stage.
2. When the body shows these manifestations, beware of stomach problems "quietly" coming
Stomach cancer is cunning, but it's not untraceable. If your body starts to show these abnormalities, it's time to be alert.
Upper abdominal pain
Data shows that more than 80% of stomach cancer patients experience epigastric pain, or a change in the nature and pattern of pain. The pain may be swollen, pressing, or dull and worsen after eating.
Retrosternal pain
Retrosternal pain is often thought to be a heart problem, but it can be a sign of cardia fundus cancer.
Eating often has a "sense of early satiety"
When eating a small amount of food on a daily basis, you feel full very quickly, which is called "early satiety".
Appetite receding
One of the common early symptoms of stomach cancer is loss of appetite, especially anorexia of meat-based foods.
Weight lowering
Patients may experience unexplained weight loss due to loss of appetite and tumors depleting nutrients from the body.
3. Why does stomach cancer come to the door? It's all eaten one bite at a time
Stomach cancer does not come to the door for no reason, many times, it is "the disease from the mouth".
1. High-salt diet
Several studies have shown that a high-salt diet increases the risk of stomach cancer.
High-salt foods, such as preserved foods, contain high amounts of nitrite, which are converted into carcinogens nitrosamines by the action of stomach acid. Secondly, a high-salt diet can destroy the defense barrier of the gastric mucosa and exacerbate the inflammation of the gastric mucosa.
2. Love red meat
Red meat may produce carcinogens nitroso compounds during processing (e.g., curing, smoking), increasing the risk of stomach cancer. Not only that, but when red meat is cooked at high temperatures (e.g., pan-fried, grilled, and fried), another carcinogen – heterocyclic amines.
3. Irregular eating habits
Irregular eating habits can affect the balance of the gastrointestinal microbiome. Irregular meals are a common problem of busy modern people, many people often eat supper to replace dinner, food can not be completely digested before going to bed, over time, gastritis, stomach ulcers and other diseases will appear.
4. If you don't want to get stomach cancer, remember these anti-cancer prescriptions
Stomach cancer is not a small opponent, but don't worry, Xiao Jiu will share with you some strategies to prevent stomach cancer, as long as you do these few steps, you can keep it out.
The most effective step: healthy eating
In your daily diet, you can eat more fresh vegetables and fruits, which are rich in antioxidants and fiber, which can help reduce the risk of stomach cancer. Secondly, it is also necessary to avoid pickled foods and processed foods, and develop regular eating habits, such as overeating or long-term fasting, to maintain the health of the gastric mucosa.
The easiest step: keep exercising
The latest cancer prevention guidelines jointly released by the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research emphasize the importance of exercise, and recommend at least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every day, such as brisk walking, dancing, cycling, stair climbing, etc., 3-5 days a week.
The most important step: regular gastroscopy
The detection rate of early-stage gastric cancer in China is low, and most gastric cancer patients are detected late, with an overall 5-year survival rate of less than 50%. Authoritative medical consensus opinions recommend that adults over 40 years old, especially those with high risk of gastric cancer, should undergo regular gastroscopy.
In addition, people with these characteristics are also recommended to go for gastroscopy:
● People who have been infected with Helicobacter pylori (HP positive).
● People who have had chronic atrophic gastritis, gastric ulcer and other precancerous diseases of the stomach
● First-degree relatives (parents, siblings, children) of gastric cancer patients
● Presence of other risk factors for gastric cancer (e.g., long-term intake of high salt, preserved food, smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, etc.)
● People in areas with a high incidence of gastric cancer
Although stomach cancer is cunning, as long as we stick to a healthy lifestyle, we can greatly reduce the risk of it coming to the door. Pick up your "anti-cancer shield" and let's build a line of defense together to keep stomach cancer out!
Resources:
[1] Who needs early screening for stomach cancer? 》. Guangdong CDC. 2024-04-28
[2] "Before stomach cancer comes, it will go through this stage! Don't take it too seriously. Tencent Medical Codex.2023-09-25
[3] "Preventing Stomach Cancer, Listen to What Experts Say?" 》. Shaw Hospital, Nanjing Medical University.2021-04-12
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