After you have been diagnosed with stomach cancer, your healthcare team will figure out the stage of the tumor. Stomach cancer staging is used to describe:
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The type of stomach cancer
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How deeply the tumor has invaded the stomach wall
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If the cancer is only in the stomach or if it has spread to another part of the body
The stage of your stomach cancer is used to help choose the treatment option that is right for you.
To the right are examples of organizations and resources you may find helpful. Click on the links to visit those websites and learn more.
When a piece of tissue is taken from the body (a biopsy), it is examined by a type of doctor called a pathologist. He or she then writes a report about the findings. This is called a pathology report. It will tell your healthcare team the stage of the tumor and help you and your team chose the treatment that is best for you. Be sure to ask your healthcare team to give you a copy of the report and review it with you. And ask any questions you have about the results.
To the right are examples of organizations and resources you may find helpful. Click on the links to visit those websites and learn more.
Clinical trials are used to find out more about potential treatments, such as the potential benefits and risks and for whom they may work. One group of people in the clinical trial will get the treatment being studied. The other group will get the treatment usually used to treat that type of cancer.
There are 3 phases of clinical trials:
- Phase I trials test how safe a dose is, how a treatment should be given, and how a treatment affects the body
- Phase II trials test to see if the treatment being studied has an effect on a specific disease and how it affects the body
- Phase III compares the treatment being studied with the treatment usually used to treat that type of cancer (standard of care treatment)
Click on the button below to go to the Clinical Trial Finder
Find a clinical trial
To the right are examples of organizations and resources you may find helpful. Click on the links to visit those websites and learn more.
