How do patients with gastric cancer deal with anemia

Gastric cancer patients are prone to anemia due to decreased appetite, gastrointestinal bleeding, and postoperative iron absorption disorders. Generally speaking, anemia in gastric cancer patients can be divided into two types: preoperative anemia and postoperative anemia.

Preoperative anemia

Causes: There are many reasons for anemia in gastric cancer patients before surgery, including decreased appetite, reduced gastrointestinal absorption, insufficient food intake, and the fact that gastric cancer patients are prone to upper gastrointestinal bleeding symptoms, all of which can easily lead to anemia in patients.

Countermeasures: Gastric cancer patients with preoperative anemia can be treated with folic acid, vitamins and iron under the guidance of doctors. In addition, if the hemoglobin of gastric cancer patients is less than 60g/L before surgery, red blood cell suspension should be transfused as appropriate and intravenous nutrition should be strengthened. When the hemoglobin reaches 80g/L, surgical removal of the tumor and postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy can be considered.

Postoperative anemia

Cause: After gastric cancer patients undergo resection, most of the stomach is removed, resulting in a decrease in gastric wall cells and impaired iron absorption, which makes iron deficiency anemia very likely. In addition, surgery can damage the patient's gastric mucosa, causing poor digestion, affecting nutrient absorption, and easily leading to anemia.

Countermeasures: Gastric cancer patients with anemia after surgery can use food therapy to replenish blood. Pork liver, black fungus, milk, donkey-hide gelatin, brown sugar and other foods are all good blood-replenishing foods. Among them, black fungus can replenish qi and brown sugar can replenish blood. These two foods can effectively deal with qi and blood deficiency anemia. The trace elements such as iron, arsenic, manganese and zinc contained in black fungus and brown sugar have anti-cancer activity and can play an auxiliary therapeutic role in the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer.

In short, gastric cancer patients should pay attention to the symptoms of anemia. Once anemia is discovered, they should go to the hospital as soon as possible to find out the cause of anemia and receive timely treatment.