Stomach Cancer Prevention

Stomach Cancer Risk Factors

Knowing the risk factors for stomach cancer is a step in the right direction. Some risk factors, such as family history, are not within your control. But other risk factors, such as diet and smoking tobacco products, are things you can control.

Stomach Cancer and Diet

Doctors think the steady decline of stomach cancer cases in the past several decades is due largely to changes in what we eat:

• Food preservation: We now preserve food through refrigeration, rather than by salting, smoking or pickling.
• Healthy diet: Eating foods with plenty of fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C may also lower your risk for stomach cancer.
• Quitting smoking: Quitting smoking is probably the single best decision you can make for your health. It reduces your risk for many medical problems. It decreases the risk for many cancers, including cancers of the stomach, head and neck, larynx, esophagus, lung, bladder, kidney and pancreas.

Stomach Cancer Prevention

You can reduce your risk for stomach cancer by doing these things:

• Limit the amount of alcohol you drink and do not use tobacco products.
• Avoid eating smoked and pickled foods and salted meats and fish.
• Eat fresh fruits and vegetables and plenty of whole grain foods, such as whole grain breads, cereals, pasta and rice.
• Maintain a healthy weight.

Stomach Cancer and Medications

Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, can lower the risk for getting some kinds of stomach cancer. However, they can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. Many doctors view aspirin or NSAIDs as an added benefit in preventing cancer if you are taking them for other conditions, such as arthritis. But they do not recommend taking them only to reduce your cancer risk.