The patient is Ms. N.T. N (52 years old, Phuoc Long ward, Ho Chi Minh City), before being admitted to the hospital, she experienced dizziness, prolonged cough for 4 months, accompanied by poor eating, bloating and heartburn. Thinking that she was only suffering from a common gastritis, she was treated according to symptoms at the initial medical facility. However, the signs did not subside but gradually prolonged, causing her to decide to go to Thu Duc General Hospital for in-depth examination.
Here, the patient was initially diagnosed with vestibular disorder, bronchitis and gastritis. During medical treatment, doctors prescribed gastroscopy to assess the lesions. The endoscopy results recorded a tumor in the stomach, then the patient was biopsied for pathology. The results showed that the patient had stomach cancer and was prescribed surgery to partially remove the lower part of the stomach.
After being admitted to the hospital, the patient was given general support, and at the same time, inter-specialized consultation was held to ensure safety before surgery. The surgery lasted more than 3 hours and took place smoothly. After 8 days of treatment, the patient recovered well, ate normally, and the surgical wound was dry and beautifully healed. Ms. N. had her stitches removed and was discharged from the hospital in stable condition.
According to Dr. Nguyen Van Sang - Department of General Surgery, Thu Duc General Hospital, early-stage stomach cancer often has faint manifestations, easily confused with common digestive diseases. "Many patients are subjective, treating for a long time according to symptoms without endoscopy examination. This makes them miss the golden stage in treatment. Screening at the right time helps to detect early and improve the chances of cure," Dr. Sang shared.
According to doctors, warning signs of stomach cancer that need to be noted include prolonged epigastric pain, persistent heartburn, heartburn, prolonged nausea or vomiting of unknown cause, difficulty swallowing, anemia of unknown cause, abnormal weight loss, vomiting blood or black stools. These are symptoms that should not be taken lightly.
Doctors also recommend that high-risk groups should undergo periodic endoscopy screening, including people aged 40-50 and over, people with relatives with stomach cancer, people with long-term HP bacteria infection or chronic gastritis. Screening helps detect cancer as well as precancerous lesions early, thereby improving treatment effectiveness.
From the above case, doctors recommend that people should not be subjective about prolonged stomach symptoms. Early examination and periodic screening are important factors to help protect health and enhance the chances of successful treatment.
