Widow Wednesday--Stomach Cancer Warning Signs

In my earlier posts, I talked about Ray and how he was feeling and some of his symptoms. In most cases stomach cancer doesn't have any signs until it is advanced. We knew his signs seemed to say cancer, but we didn't know what to ask for. We trusted that the doctors were doing their jobs and doing the right tests and treatments. In today's post I hope to just bring awareness to the signs and symptoms and remind everyone you are your only advocate. If you aren't feeling better ask for tests to be done. We were under the impression he was having the testing done that he needed. If we had known a scope from the throat down would have found the cancer it could have been found months earlier.

Signs and symptoms of stomach cancer can include:

• Indigestion, heartburn or ulcer-type symptoms
• Difficulty swallowing
• Abdominal pain or vague discomfort in the abdomen, usually above the navel
• Nausea and vomiting and/or bloating after meals
• Vomiting blood, or blood in the stool
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Loss of appetite
• Unexplained weight loss
• Weakness and fatigue
• Sense of fullness after eating small amounts of food (also called early satiety)
• Symptoms may mimic other conditions, such as GERD, gastritis or peptic ulcer
• Ascites (buildup of fluid in the abdomen) 

I found the above information on nostomachforcancer.org, but they were all experienced by Ray. These signs and symptoms could also mean other things, but if you do experience these please don't just take that it is IBS as an answer, especially if after treatment it doesn't get better.