Upper Abdominal Cancer Treatments: Options & Information

Upper abdominal cancer is a serious life threatening disease that can strike various parts of a patient's upper abdomen including the esophagus or the stomach. Cancer treatments may include combinations of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Esophagus Cancer

• According to the American Cancer Society, cancer can develop in the lining of a patient's esophagus or near the opening between the esophagus and the stomach.

Stomach Cancer

• Stomach cancer usually grows slowly over many years and most cases develops in the lining of the stomach.

Esophagectomy

• Doctors may perform an esophagectomy using laparoscopic or open surgery techniques to remove all or some of a patient's esophagus and connect the stomach to the upper portion of the esophagus with a piece of the colon or small intestine.

Gastrectomy

• Surgeons may remove part or all of a patient's stomach during a gastrectomy and use part of the large intestine to form a new stomach.

Chemotherapy

• Physicians may treat upper abdominal cancer with chemotherapy, a form of therapy that uses special drugs to kill cancer tumor cells.

Radiation Therapy

• Doctors may use radiation therapy to kill upper abdominal cancer cells with a beam of radiation.