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Warning-sign checks

Gastric cancer: when to get help

Go through these in order and stop at the first one that applies. If you are reading this for someone else, answer for them.

  1. 1

    Is any of this happening now?

    Call 911

    Seek emergency help for:

    • Vomiting blood or material resembling coffee grounds
    • Black, tar-like stools, especially with weakness or dizziness
    • Fainting, severe shortness of breath, or confusion
    • Sudden severe abdominal pain or a rigid, very tender abdomen
    Other emergency signs, for anyone
    • Someone who is struggling to breathe, gasping, choking, or cannot get words out
    • Someone who has chest pain, tightness or pressure lasting more than a few minutes
    • Someone who has sudden weakness or drooping on one side of the face or body, slurred speech, or sudden confusion
    • Someone who is unconscious, or cannot be woken
    • Someone who is bleeding heavily and it will not stop with firm pressure
    • Someone who has had a seizure that will not stop, or does not wake up afterwards
    • Someone who has lips or skin that look pale, blue, grey or blotchy
    • Someone who you believe has taken an overdose or swallowed something poisonous
  2. 2

    Is any of this happening?

    Be seen today

    Seek urgent same-day medical advice if you cannot keep fluids down, have increasing trouble swallowing, show signs of dehydration, or develop rapidly worsening symptoms.

    If you are receiving chemotherapy or another cancer treatment, contact your cancer team immediately for fever, chills, or signs of infection.

    Follow the urgent instructions and temperature thresholds they have given you.

  3. 3

    Does any of this apply?

    Book an appointment

    Arrange a routine appointment if indigestion, upper abdominal discomfort, early fullness, poor appetite, or nausea persists or keeps returning.

    Seek earlier assessment if symptoms worsen or occur with weight loss, swallowing difficulty, repeated vomiting, or unexplained tiredness.

    And for anyone, someone who:

    • has noticed a lump, a mole that has changed, or unexplained weight loss

Every sign above is quoted from the sofidex article on Gastric cancer. If you are not sure, err upward — it is always reasonable to be checked.