Nalini Shah Cancer Fund - Summary of Esophageal Cancer Talk Cancer Talks / Nalini Shah Cancer Talks Date: Jun 21, 2009 - 01:03 AM 04/19/2009 - Highlights of the talk on Esophageal & Stomach Cancer by Dr. Jasvant Modi Gastric Cancer: Two main causes of Gastric Cancer are: 1. Bacterial infection from H Pylori: The incidence of this infection is high in people who are born in India. It causes ulcer in stomach which leads to gastric cancer in the future. You can find out if you have high count of these bacteria by a simple H Pylori Bacterial Test. Dr Modi recommended to get tested for H Pylori Bacterial Infection – this test can be included in your routine annual blood test. High count of bacteria for this test does not mean that there is Gastric Cancer but all Gastric Cancer Patients have a history of H Pylori Infection. H Pylori infection may lead to ulcers and then stomach cancer. H Pylori Infection can be treated very easily with a course of two weeks of antibiotics. This is the most early stage detection and treatment to prevent Gastric cancer. Notoriously there is no chemotherapy for stomach cancer. It is the end of the game. Why does not US Government make H Pylori test mandatory? The cost of this test may not be liked by the insurance companies. Dr. Modi recommended that this test should be done at our annual health fairs. 2. Gastric Adenoma: If there is a growth or polyp in the stomach and if it is detected early it can be removed and you can prevent stomach cancer. Endoscopy can be done to see if there are polyps or small growths and can be removed at the same time if found. This is another way you can prevent getting Stomach Cancer. You can also ask the doctor to look inside your stomach when you are getting your Colonoscopy done. Whenever you go for Colonoscopy to safeguard against Colon Cancer ask doctor to test look inside your stomach also. This does not take much time. Golden Standard for Colonoscopy for age 50 and then every 10 years if there are no polyps found by GI doctor. It is highly recommended to have the endoscopy done simultaneously with Colonoscopy even if the insurance company does not pay for it. Burping-Acid Reflux: Burping-Acid Reflux: Frequent Burping (odkars, lot of gas) should not be taken lightly. It indicates acid reflux/heartburn which if not treated, in long turn may cause esophageal cancer. This article comes from Anekant Community Center http://www.anekant.net/ The URL for this story is: http://www.anekant.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=23