He first played on professional football teams, the San Diego Chargers, the Houston Oilers, and the Kansas City Chiefs, and then found fame and fortune in professional wrestling, a sport that landed him in the World Wrestling Federation Hall of Fame.

He is Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd. And on Saturday night, he died of cancer at the age of 68.

Ladd’s battle with cancer began in 2004. It started in his colon and later spread to his stomach and bones.

“The doctor told me I had three-to-six months to live,” Ladd said in 2005. “I told him Dr. Jesus has the verdict on me.”

It seems the great doctor gave Ladd, the 15th player taken in the 1961 AFL draft, more than a few months, proof that numbers are not everything in the game of cancer.

Ladd, almost 6-foot-10 and more than 300 pounds, started making appearances at wrestling events during his football career. He was first a special events referee and then became a wrestler. It was both a knee injury and the lure of the lucrative wrestling industry that ended Ladd’s football career.

“In what other sport can you pick up a $14 pair of boots, $0.59 socks, spend maybe a total of $50, and convert it into $100,000 a year, if you are sharp and train?” Ladd once said. “My intention was to go back to football, but pro wrestling was so good to me.”

Stomach Cancer, also known as Gastric Cancer, affects the cells of the stomach which is a part of the digestive system. The stomach processes the foods that are eaten and helps deliver waste material out of the human body.

Are there any risk factors that increase the chances for stomach cancer?

There are certain risk factors that increase the possibility of developing stomach cancer. The most significant risk factors are:

- Infection of the stomach by bacteria
- Inflammation of the stomach (gastritis)
- Age. Elder people are more vulnerable
- Gender. Males are more vulnerable
- Diet. Salted, smoked or preserved foods. Diet low in fruits and vegetables increase the danger.
- Smoking. Cigarettes and smoking can cause various types of cancer including stomach cancer.
- Gastric Polyps. A common stomach disease.
- A mother, father who has had stomach cancer.

But what are the most importand Stomach Cancer Symptoms that one should pay attention to?

In the early stages of stomach cancer, the following symptoms may occur:

- Indigestion
- Stomach Discomfort
- Mild Nausea
- Loss of Appetite
- Heartburn

The above symptoms may be the result not only of stomach cancer but of various health conditions. A doctor should be consulted if any of the above symptoms are identified.

What about the advanced stages od the disease? Are there any other significant stomach cancer symptoms?

In more advanced stages of stomach cancer the following symptoms may occur:

- Blood in the stool
- Vomiting
- Weight Loss
- Stomach Pain
- Yellowing of eyes and skin
- Trouble with swallowing

Are there any tests that can identify stomach cancer in the early stages?

There are tests that examine the stomach and the esophagus. The tests detect and diagnose the gastric cancer. Prevention is your single most importand ally when fighting with stomach problems and even stomach cancer and its symptoms.

About The Author:

Detailed information about stomach cancer symptoms can be found in the National Cancer Institute. I strongly recommend you have a good look at the 350 Natural & Alternative Cancer Treatments That Work. This information saved the lives of thousands of people.

Stacey Stephenson, a 19 year old teenager died of stomach cancer after being repeatedly told by doctors that she only had indigestion.

Stacey’s cancer was finally diagnosed correctly by a Greek doctor while she was holidaying at Crete. Stacey immediately returned to England for her treatment but she succumbed to stomach cancer, earlier this month.

Earlier this June, Miss Stephenson, who was a loan adviser, usually complained about feeling sick and failed to keep her food down. Wasting no time she went to her doctor, who prescribed her some medicines for the indigestion. But the problems continued to grow. So she again went to her doctor after two weeks. But again the doctor told her that it was a problem of indigestion and prescribed her the same course. Soon, her stomach started to swell. Her worried mother immediately called NHS Direct. They advised her to take Stacey to a hospital. But that didn’t end the pain. After another week, the pain was so strong that she again went to her doctor who then advised her to go for a blood test. But Stacey has to leave for Crete the next day with four of her friends.

It was the second week during her stay at Crete, when the pain worsened. She was immediately admitted to the Greek hospital.

Stacey’s mother said: “We were called by a Greek doctor who said we had to fly over there straight away. I couldn’t quite understand what was happening but Malcolm and I caught a flight and got there quick. We were called on the same day as Stacey’s sister, Lindsey, told us she was pregnant. My emotions went from one extreme to another in one day.” Mr Lowther, 43, said: “An X-ray showed a tumor in her stomach and that was why she was feeling sick and couldn’t hold her food down. A doctor from Athens escorted us home on the flight and an ambulance was waiting at Newcastle Airport to take us to the Freeman Hospital.”

Soon after a week Miss Stephenson was moved to Royal Victoria Infirmary teenage cancer unit, as she showed no signs of any improvement. Stacey’s stepfather said ‘Stacey started chemotherapy but her body was so weak that she was rushed into the intensive care unit where she was put on a ventilator. Eventually her kidneys failed.’

Soon Stacey died, surrounded by family members and friends.

Her mother said “It happened so quickly. She can’t believe that Stacey is gone.” She also added: “She was a beautiful person – in looks and her manner.”

No doctors from Newcastle General Hospital or the health trust was available for comment yesterday.

Miss Stacey Stephenson will be buried alongside her father, Brian, who died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 33 in 1993.

Rosemont Mayor Donald E. Stephens is one of the nation’s longest-serving mayors. Stephens, 78, announced on Thursday, that he has undergone surgery for stomach cancer and hopes to return to work soon. Doctors operated on Stephens in May at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

The northwest suburban mayor said he finished radiation treatments about two weeks ago and anticipates a full recovery. Stephens’s condition has been kept as a secret. He has had a series of health issues in the last nine months. Last December, he underwent triple-bypass surgery. In May, he missed his village’s 50th anniversary gala because of another health problem before his cancer surgery.

“I’m tired. The radiation knocks the socks out of you,” Stephens said. “Other than that, I’m doing just fine.” “I just didn’t want all this sympathy,” Stephens explained when asked why his condition was kept secret.

Four years ago, former Royal Army guardsman John Ford had his stomach removed after being misdiagnosed with stomach cancer. It was only after the operation that it was revealed the pathologist at Walsall Manor Hospital had misdiagnosed the tests; Ford’s tumor was actually benign.

“I now have no stomach and am in constant pain and discomfort,” said Ford. “I am either constipated or have diarrhea and am afraid to leave the house in case I need a bathroom. I do not absorb food, so I have very little energy and find everyday tasks hard work.”

Ford and his wife, Joan, were awarded an undisclosed six-figure compensation payout when Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust accepted liability for the mistake, but it’s been of little comfort to the couple.

“My wife and I had recently retired and we were looking forward to spending quality time together traveling,” Ford said. “However, the operation has seriously limited what I can do. We have no social life any more, and fear all our retirement plans have completely gone out the window.”

“I wish with all my heart that on the morning of his operation John had walked out, which he wanted to do,” Joan added.

Unfortunately, Ford is not alone in his personal tragedy. According to Gary Null, PhD., in his book “Death by Medicine,” it is estimated that 7.5 million unnecessary medical and surgical procedures are performed annually.

“The number of misdiagnosed and mistreated cancer cases is far larger than most people suspect,” said Mike Adams, a consumer health advocate and critic of the for-profit cancer industry. “Very few cancer mistakes ever come to light. Most victims just live out their lives without their stomach, colon or breasts, believing their cancer surgeries were justified when, in fact, they were not.”

Adams recommends that patients get a second or third opinion on any cancer diagnosis before submitting to radical treatments that cause permanent damage such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation.

Source: News Target 

Yesterday, we posted a news about the doubt that Fidel Castro must be having stomach cancer.

FIDEL Castro was recuperating well after surgery and does not have cancer, according to Carlos Lage, the Cuban vice-president, in the government’s most detailed comments on his condition since the president was forced to temporarily hand over power to his brother.

Havana has provided no details and released no pictures of the Cuban president – fuelling speculation around the world about his condition.

On Monday, it was announced that Mr Castro, who will be 80 on Saturday, had undergone surgery for intestinal bleeding. He temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul, the defence minister, who has not been seen in public since.

Cubans were told on Tuesday in a statement attributed to the president that most details of his health would be kept “a state secret” to prevent the island’s enemies from taking advantage of his condition.

“He is coming along well. He does not have stomach cancer,” Mr Lage said.

“He has been made well by the operation and is recuperating favourably.”

Meanwhile, Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the centre of an international custody battle with family members in Miami six years ago, joined the list of people wishing Mr Castro a swift recovery.

“We send you this letter to let you know that we are worried about your health,” Elian, now 12, wrote in a letter signed with “little kisses” from him and his half-siblings and cousins.

Cuban military reservists are under orders to report every day at military posts amid heightened security.

Dissidents said the military was telling people in eastern provinces that they could use force against those criticising the government.

Three events have fueled the rumor that Cuban Communist Party President Fidel Castro is gravely ill — possibly due to stomach cancer. One, no one has seen publicly him since he was hospitalized last week for surgery, and two, for the first time in his dictatorship it was announced Castro has turned over power of Cuba to his brother Raul, who hasn’t been seen in public lately either. Lastly, a Brazilian newspaper published a story stating Castro had stomach cancer.

The speculation about stomach cancer originated in that Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reporting that a Cuban official told Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva his friend Castro had a malignant stomach tumor and his condition was worse than had been disclosed.

“The information was obtained by Folha from two direct aides to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,” reporter Kennedy Alencar said in a letter to his newspaper published on Sunday.

The latest statement issued by Vice President Carlos Lage said Castro is recovering well from surgery and will return to the presidency in several weeks. The Brazilian newspaper journalist who reported the story of Castro being treated for stomach cancer is standing by his story.

BOSTON, MA, United States (UPI) — Attacking stomach cancer with anti-cancer drugs before and after surgery can dramatically increase the chances that patients will survive at least five years, researchers reported Wednesday.

In the United States, the standard of care for gastric cancers has been surgery when there is possibility that performing the operation could cure the patient. After the surgeon has finished his work, the patients often receive chemotherapy and/or radiation.

However, in a report to be published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, doctors in the United Kingdom said their patients achieved a 36 percent five-year survival if they underwent the peri-operative chemotherapy schedule — three cycles of anti-cancer drugs before surgery and three cycles after surgery.

That compared to a 23 percent five-year survival for patients with cancers of the stomach, the junction of the stomach and esophagus or lower esophagus, who only received surgical excision of the their tumors.

‘This treatment should be considered as an option for patients with gastric cancer,’ said the study`s lead author David Cunningham, a surgeon at Royal Marsden Hospital, London.

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Nearly 22,000 Americans will be diagnosed with stomach cancer this year, and half will die.For the Bradfield cousins, the risk was even higher, 11 of them inherited a mutated cancer gene.

With up to an 80% chance of developing stomach cancer, they decided to have their stomachs removed.

Dr. Jeffrey Norton of the Stanford Medical Center said, “It would be a big gamble for them to wait because if they develop stomach cancer that was macroscopic or large, they would have probably had lymph node metastases and would have died.”

Dr. Norton says each of the stomachs he removed showed early signs of cancer, signs that went undetected.

Many of the Bradfield’s never knew each other before their surgeries.

Recently, they met up in Las Vegas to talk about their experience.

Q. What is stomach cancer?

A. There are two main types of stomach cancer: called the intestinal and diffuse types.   Intestinal stomach cancer is more common amongst older patients and patients from ‘high-risk’ groups (eg the Japanese and Koreans). Diffuse stomach cancer is found more frequently in women and people with blood group A.  This variety of stomach cancer is more difficult to treat.

Q. How common is stomach cancer?

A. Stomach cancer is more common than most people realise.  Each year there are 59,300 cases in the USA, 2,800 in Canada, 2,000 in Australia and 9,100 in the UK.  However, it used to be much more common in the west.  Fifty years ago it was the most common type of cancer.  Now it is number five or six in most western countries.  Currently, the incidence is much higher in places like Korea, Japan, Russia and some South American countries.  Worldwide, there are nearly 800,000 cases each year.

Q. Who is most likely to get stomach cancer?

A. Like many cancers, this type is most common in older people.  Few cases occur below 50 years of age and the highest rates are in men and women over 70.  Men are twice as likely to get stomach cancer as women.  The risk of stomach cancer also depends a lot on where you live (see above).  Korea and Japan have the highest rates, ten times the rate in the USA.

Q. What causes stomach cancer?

A. The function of the stomach and the wide differences in stomach cancer rates between different countries make it almost certain that the food we eat is – or was – a major factor in the cause.  The likely reason that the number of cases has dropped over the last fifty years is that refrigeration of food became common and people ate less pickled, salted, smoked and cured foods.

Q. Who is at risk of stomach cancer? 

• Diet – eating a diet high in preserved foods has been linked with higher rates of stomach cancer (see above).
• Gender – stomach cancer is almost twice as common in men as in women.
• Other diseases – people with pernicious anaemia or achlorhydria are more likely to get stomach cancer.
• Infections- stomach infections by a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, which is a major cause of stomach ulcers, is also associated with a much higher risk of stomach cancer.
• Smoking – this is also known to increase the risk of getting stomach cancer.

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