10 Gastric Cancer Symptoms
Symptom #3: Dysphagia
Dysphagia is a medical term used to describe the disruption of the swallowing process that interferes with a person’s ability to ingest food. Patients may have trouble with the passage of liquids or solids from the mouth to the stomach. Tumors seen in gastric cancer can be a cause of dysphagia due to their location in proximal parts of the stomach (i.e. cardia).
Dysphagia increases the risk of pulmonary aspiration and aspiration pneumonia. When a patient has dysphagia, they may exhibit coughing, choking, unexplained weight loss, frequent episodes of pneumonia, and nasal regurgitation. Dysphagia has many possible causes. It can be seen in esophagitis (i.e. GERD, motility disorders (i.e. achalasia), structural disorders (i.e. diverticulum, strictures, rings, fistulas), muscular disorders, as a side effect of drugs, etc.
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