Ok, second try!

My daughter's granny has been diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer. She is bleeding from the tumor in her stomach and the blood appeared a couple weeks ago in her vomit and today it is in the severe diarrhea she is experiencing. She will be going to the hospital for blood transfusions to replace what she has lost, in addition to re-hydrating her most likely dehydrated body.

My daughter's aunt and I googled stomach cancer and were amazed by what we learned, much more than what several doctors had told the family. It was also depressing to realize what little hope there is for patients with this type of cancer.

Stomach cancer is the second most common cancer in the world, behind lung cancer. Nearly one million people every year die of this type of cancer. It is more common in other countries than in the US. For every woman who has stomach cancer there are three men who have it.

There is no standard method of chemotherapy for stomach cancer. Removal of the stomach and tumor and reconstruction of "another" stomach is usually only an option to stop the bleeding that occurs from this type of cancer. It doesn't cure the cancer as this type is aggressive and fast growing.

Stomach cancer is no doubt a silent killer. By the time most patients are diagnosed, there are a scant number of viable candidates for surgery, and chemotherapy only extends their life a few months.

65% of these cancer patients have a survival rate of six months if diagnosed early. Those that are diagnosed late have less than a 15% chance of living six months.

The early symptoms of stomach cancer are indigestion or heartburn and a loss of appetite, especially for meat. The symptoms for the later stages are common in those suffering from the stomach virus or a gastric ulcer.

My daughter's granny had blood work completed six months ago and everything came back fine. Flash forward to now and you can see how quickly this can transpire.

Perhaps this information will be of use to you in the future. Or a loved one. To help prevent this type of cancer from occurring, eat a diet low in salt with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Stopping smoking, or never even starting can lower the incidence of stomach cancer too.