What are the Symptoms of Stomach Cancer?
Early stage stomach cancer may not show any signs or symptoms. However, once the tumor grows it may start to push on adjacent organs causing symptoms.
The following are the most common symptoms in stomach cancer:
- weight loss
- fatigue
- abdominal pain or discomfort
- feeling full after a meal
- abdominal bloating after a meal
- heart burn or indigestion
- reduced appetite
- difficulty swallowing
- nausea and vomiting. Vomit can look like undigested food, bright red blood or like dark brown "coffee grounds"
- changes in bowel habits which include colour, consistency, frequency and smell. Blood in stool may cause diarrhea which appears dark black and/or tarry and has a foul smell
- anemia from internal bleeding. Anemia may present as weakness, fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, reduced ability to exercise, rapid heart rate, pale skin and pale gums.
- jaundice is a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. It may also present with dark "tea coloured" urine
- "ascites" refers to fluid buildup in the abdomen. This may present as weight gain (especially around the abdomen), shortness of breath, sense of bloating, nausea, vomiting or indigestion.
- lump in the abdomen, lump under the armpit, lump in the ovary ("Krukenberg tumor"), lump in pelvis or rectum ("Blumers Shelf"), lump in belly button ("Sisten Mary Joseph Node"), lump in left collar bone ("Virchow node")
- later stages of stomach cancer can spread to the abdominal cavity, liver, lung and brain and may cause other symptoms specific to that area
Many of these signs and symptoms are common in other medical conditions. If you are concerned about these symptoms, please visit your doctor.