Stomach Cancer Center

Question: What causes a full/bloated feeling just below my ribs in the center of my stomach? I've had this off and on and the last few days is really annoying me. Directly below the center of where my ribs end, maybe around the upper stomach, I have this hard, full feeling. If I feel around it seems like something is there but I don't know if it's cartilage, my diagphram or what. I've been on Nexium for 4 months, had an endoscopy that came back normal. Could this be a side effect of nexium? I'm starting to get worried I have stomach cancer! My bowels are fine, no pain, swallowing is fine, appetite is fine. Any suggestions ?

Answer: Get your gall bladder checked - could be gall stones ...

Question: If my aunt has cancer, should she visit the nearest Cancer Treatment Centers of America for help? My aunt has a moderately advanced stage of cancer in the stomach. She is so skinny now and her face has actually lost its color--from light brown to dull and pale green color. She went from a healthy 150 lbs to slightly above 110. My aunt's appearance couldn't be any worse, despite her always wearing a big smile of optimism. I really fear she will lose her life and leave her two daughters, who are twins, alone. She is divorced and as such, don't think she has anyone who will protect and take care of them, should she pass away. I heard about Cancer Treatment Centers of America on the TV and thought it could be the best place for her to treat her cancer. Unfortunately, cancer runs in her family so it isn't a first time thing in the family. My aunt lives in Dallas, Texas, like me, but the nearest CTCA (Cancer Treatment Centers of America) is like Tulsa, Oklahoma. Should we go long distance in order to seek the best help? Are there are centers that provide just as good aid and specializes in cancer? Please help me! I need help and I don't want to see a family member die because of cancer.

Answer: Boy do I agree with "zrepmd" here. By all means look into MD Anderson - one of the world's best cancer centers. And they are much closer. Her present oncologist could make the referral - at the patient's request. - - - Advertising for CTCA on TV is a bad sign to begin with. They must be focusing on patients with private insurance where they can make large profits. I would be surprised if they ever accept medicaid or uninsured patients. Someone please correct me here if I am wrong. It would be interesting to know how they screen out people who cannot pay. They do not have anything different from any other board certified U.S. oncologist. I could access investigational medications from the NCI (National Cancer Institute) in my community group practice, and I belonged to a university group of investigators with access to the latest treatment trials. I suspect zrepmd is similarly tied in with investigational agents for patients who are refractory to standard treatment approaches. To spend the money they do on TV advertising, CTCA must be focused on profit. If you have plenty of money and want Cadillac treatment, maybe that is the place to go. I suspect they want only the high end wealthy patients. I have said on this site many times - medicine should not be a business. Dollars should not figure into treatment decisions - but they certainly do in the U.S. today. In fairness, cost also figures into treatment approaches in socialized medicine countries such as Canada and the U.K. I guess the difference is that Cadillac treatment is still available to the very wealthy in the USA. In cases of advanced gastric carcinoma, it probably doesn't matter how much money a person has, the outcome is likely to be the same.

Question: What is this on my stomach? I have this line thing on my stomach. It's located a few inches above my belly button. When I'm sitting down, it's kind of like a crease. It doesn't go all the way over to my sides, it's just kind of in the center of my stomach. When I'm not sitting down, it looks red sometimes and other times it won't show up until I sit down again. What is this? It's kind of like an equator on my stomach lol This isn't cancer or anything is it o.o Is something I should be concerned over or is it just a bend mark or normal part of my stomach? A barum meal? Diaphragmatic herina? WHAT THE HECK?! Sorry but I don't know what any of that is... I've had it awhile now and I'm only 17 and a half.

Answer: It sounds like bend mark to me.

Question: My Dog has breast cancer and a hernia.? My Jack Russell Terrier has developed a tumor near her breast. The vet says that it is breast cancer, and he thinks he can remove all of it since it is not attached to anything else. She has been acting fine, but recently developed this tumor. She also has a hernia near the center of her stomach, and her vet also thinks he can repair it. He says it is a hernia of the skin and fat, and not intestinal. Her surgery is the 25th, and I am so worried about her. She is an older dog at 9 years old. Have any of you experienced this out of your dog? If so, how did things turn out? She is a a rescue dog, so I have no idea if she was breed. I do know she was spayed when I got her. Do not jump to conclusions! I am an animal rescue volunteer, and all of my pets are spayed and neutered. Thank you to all of you offering support. She will be having an X-ray before the surgery to rule the possibility out that it has spread.

Answer: Some hernia may be hard and painful and need immediate attention. As for the breast cancer, since your vet said it is not attached to anyting then your dog should be fine. They are some cases where the vet avoid operation fearing the cancer may spreads......or some cases where the dog health is weak and can't operate, there's when the chemotherapy or immunotherapy comes in. Your dog surgery is on 25th, usually the vet will have a final X-ray before the surgery just to be sure the cancer is not spread the few days before the surgery, I mean just to be at the safe site! I'll pray for your dog to have a smooth surgery and speedy recovery! Plenty of rest for your dog after the surgery and watch the diet! Good Luck!

Question: is this right? things to avoid during chemotherapy? My fiance's grandma was diagnosed with stomach cancer.. she has a really large tumor. I was wondering.. his mother says that the grandmother can have no dust in the house whatsoever, can not have sunlight, and cannot eat ANY raw veggies- everything has to be cooked to be sterilized. she's in her mid 50's. my mother had lung cancer and 4 years of chemo and we were never instructed to do this.. she was at the cancer treatment centers of america and they had a bunch of naturopathic and homeopathic doctors working with her encouraging the fresh fruits and veggies as well as exposure to fresh air. i'm confused. oh she has diabetes too.

Answer: It could be right, ask her consultant. Strong sunlight should be avoided during chemotherapy. Raw vegetables and salads can be dangerous when you are having chemotherapy. Even black pepper is on my list as a no-no unless cooked. The dust? Well cleanliness is essential, I am not sure about the dust. I have an extensive list of foods to be avoided. Each cycle of chemotherapy can cause the white blood count to drop and then there is no resistance to infection. It is potentially very dangerous. Temperature should be taken regularly and reported if it rises significantly. Any shivers and hot and cold chills should be reported.

Question: If you could do one thing to make an impact on the world...? if you could do one thing to make an impact on the world what would it be and why? i want to find a cure for cancer. the last two years i had 10 family members die from stomach cancer, brain tumors, throat cancer, stomach cancer, and breast cancer. or i would open a day care center for special needs children. or maybe i will become a motivational speaker! tiara: then u might want to start with urself

Answer: I would love to start up a Christian based privately funded charity OBGYN clinic and adoption agency for women who find themselves pregnant and can't afford medical costs or to keep the baby. We would staff volunteer OBGYNs, medical personnel, emotional health counselors, grief counselors, spiritual guidance counselors (for all religions) and house keep staff. We would have a place available for the women to stay if they were kicked out of their homes or had no where to go. I think that would make a positive impact on the world or at least the US. I also love your ideas. Maybe one day we can bring them to life.

Question: A number of deaths have occured among the cast of the Poltergeist trilogy of films.What do you think ? Dominique Dunne (Dana Freeling), Heather O'Rourke (Carol Ann Freeling), Will Sampson (Taylor, a good spirit), and Julian Beck (Kane, an evil spirit). Dominique Dunne died on 4 November 1982 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, four days after her boyfriend choked her into a coma from which she never awoke,12-year-old Heather O'Rourke died of septic shock on 1 February 1988 ,60-year-old Julian Beck died of stomach cancer on 14 September 1985 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York,53-year-old Will Sampson died on 3 June 1987 in a Houston hospital after receiving a heart-lung transplant 6 weeks earlier. they say that this offended the spirits and conjured them up to punish those who did this film Do you think this is a curse, or a mere coincidence. Has any one here had Ghostly encounters or paranormal expeiriences? they all died at least 6 months after filmings

Answer: it's just another human destiny : death.

Question: Breast Cancer and ulcers??? So for like a while, at least 3 months, my breasts have been hurting at like completely random times. Sometimes it's really bad, but most of the time it's just really uncomfortable. And I've felt for lumps but there's not really any lumps my breasts just feel kind of...hard? Just like the center is kind of stiff I guess. So, breast cancer? and since the beginning of the year I've been getting like really bad stomach aches and I get dizzy whenever I eat and after I eat like a big meal and when I go to bed I have trouble breathing. Not like I'm gasping for air or anything, I just feel the need to take really, really, deep breathes. I dunno, it's like the air feels to hot and thick. (and no, that's not humidity. we have like really low humidity where I live) My dad said that maybe I have an ulcer? and like tonight he said that it's very likely because when we sat down for dinner it smelled good but it made me nauseous. so am I just being a hypochondriac or might I have some problems???

Answer: Yes, you do have some problems, but it is not likely that breast cancer is one of them. Make an appointment with a doctor for a physical examination, and that should help to calm your fears. Then you can work out a plan to manage the most bothersome symptoms.

Question: Poltergeist deaths? who believes this or is it a coincidence>? Who believes something creepy's up with this? I do! or is it just a coincidence? Urban Legend: The Spielberg film "Poltergeist" was cursed with the deaths of cast members. This isn't really an Urban Legend but it is interesting since it's true. The film "The Exorcist" was also plagued with problems but that's another story. The Story: An unusual amount of deaths have occurred around the three "Poltergeist" films, including three of the stars. These incidence have given way to rumors that the films were cursed because of their content. This seems a little silly, there are always explanations to "curses" like this. Or are there?? Two of the stars from the first film have died at young ages, two from the second film at not so young ages. 22-year old Dominique Dunne, who played older daughter Dana Freeling, died on November 4th,1982, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She had been choked into a coma by her boyfriend. 12-year-old Heather O'Rourke died of septic shock on February 1st., 1988, at the Children's Hospital in San Diego, California. What was thought to be the flu turned out to be a bowel obstruction which caused toxins to enter her system. She died at Children's Hospital while undergoing surgery to remove the obstruction. 60-year-old Julian Beck, who played the evil preacher Kane in the second film, died of stomach cancer on September 14th,1985, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, NY. Like Heather O'Rourke, he died during the period between filming and release, but in his case the film in question was Poltergeist II, which was released in May 1986. O'Rourke died before the release of Poltergeist III. 53-year-old Will Sampson, who played Taylor in the second film, died on June 3rd., 1987, in a Houston, Texas hospital after receiving a heart-lung transplant 6 weeks earlier. The cause of his death was attributed to severe pre-operative malnutrition and post-operative kidney failure along with a fungal infection.

Answer: It's not whether you believe it or not, those people really did die shortly after the films were made. Whether or not it's conected to some kind of curse is really up to what people want to believe. I frankly think that everyone dies, and those deaths can be easily explained. 1. It's hard to connect a curse with a murder by someone who has a history of domestic violence. Domonique was a victim, and her death was a terrible act of violence- not the result of a curse. 2. She was sick for quite a few days, and her parents didn't take her to the hospital until it was too late. She had previously been diagnosed with Crohn's disease a year earlier. 3. Julian Beck had cancer for almost 2 years, his death was expected and death of an older adult by pancreatic cancer can hardly be blamed on a curse 4. Will Sampson was in poor health for a long time before his death (obviously, since he needed a new heart and lung) and it was also no suprise when he died. Sad that so many people involved in a series of films died so closely together? Yes. The result of a curse? No.

Question: Wow....I hate life a lot right now....somebody help? So my mom died last year of stomach cancer. And six months later my dad starts dating this other woman. Six months! Now I find out my dad's engaged. LESS THAN A YEAR AFTER MY MOTHER DIED! It's like he doesn't even care that they were married for 26 years and raised 9 kids together! It's like he doesn't care that she even existed. It's almost like he didn't care about her at all. And I've tried to talk to him and tell him my feelings about how I don't think he's being fair and trying to tell him how I feel and he just completely blows me off. He doesn't listen. The universe centers around him and he's lonely and it doesn't matter how it's gonna affect his kids because he is the king of the galaxy. Everyone bow down to him. Can anyone give me some advice? Please?

Answer: first off i am really sorry about your mom. i think the reason your dad is acting like this is because he feels lonely without your mom there. it isnt that he doesnt care about your mom i am very sure that he still loves her in a way. i think that he is trying to do the right thing for you and your brothers/sisters. he may think that you need another mom (which you defianitly dont after what JUST happened) but he seems to think you do. just try to get all of your family together (not including the soon to be stepmom) and talk about it and let your dad know how all of you feel.