Soft tissues Sarcomas are responsible for a rare disease called gastrointestinal stromal tumors. GIST belongs to the group of Sarcomas. This is a type of cancer occurs in connective tissues, bones and muscle, fat, nerves, blood vessels and cartilage.
GIST can arise from different internal parts of body such as stomach, small intestine and colon and rectum. In brief, there are about 40% to 70% chances when it arise from stomach, 20% to 40% chances are there when it can arise from small intestine and lesser chances about 5% to 15% it arises from colon and rectum. There are higher chances of gist arises from stomach. Apart from this, some of the time the disease develops outside the intestinal tract in the abdominal cavity.
This disease spreads from one body part to another. There is an original site from where GIST often spreads to distant locations. The disease does not produce any symptoms at initial stage. Patients do not feel any discomfort or do not complaint. Till the time they start complaining and discuss with doctors and doctors start their treatment tumor become large. Simply, GIST grows quite large till the time diseases is discovered or diagnosed. The most common symptoms a GIST patient feel include, vague abdominal discomfort or pain, presence of a palpable abdominal mass, feeling of abdominal fullness. Bleeding and associated anemia are secondary symptoms.
There are different tests and exams to diagnose the disease but radiotherapy and chemotherapy are traditional treatments that do not work when it comes to treat it. Gleevec is a drug that is often used to treat GIST tumor. The primary tumor or small tumor can be removed from surgical operation. In case, if tumor is not removed properly then Gleevec drug is used. This drug has become a very useful aid as a boon to treat gist. There are some Gleevec side effects, common and severe. Common side effects include fluid retention, muscle cramps or pain and bone pain, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased hemoglobin, nausea, fatigue, skin reactions, some severe and loss of appetite. It is always better to consult with doctors in case patients facing side effects because there are some severe side effects.
Life Raft Group provides gist support for patients suffering from such a rare disease. This group provides information, details, consultation and support to GIST patients and their family members. The main aim of group is survival of such patients and maintaining their life standard.
GIST can arise from different internal parts of body such as stomach, small intestine and colon and rectum. In brief, there are about 40% to 70% chances when it arise from stomach, 20% to 40% chances are there when it can arise from small intestine and lesser chances about 5% to 15% it arises from colon and rectum. There are higher chances of gist arises from stomach. Apart from this, some of the time the disease develops outside the intestinal tract in the abdominal cavity.
This disease spreads from one body part to another. There is an original site from where GIST often spreads to distant locations. The disease does not produce any symptoms at initial stage. Patients do not feel any discomfort or do not complaint. Till the time they start complaining and discuss with doctors and doctors start their treatment tumor become large. Simply, GIST grows quite large till the time diseases is discovered or diagnosed. The most common symptoms a GIST patient feel include, vague abdominal discomfort or pain, presence of a palpable abdominal mass, feeling of abdominal fullness. Bleeding and associated anemia are secondary symptoms.
There are different tests and exams to diagnose the disease but radiotherapy and chemotherapy are traditional treatments that do not work when it comes to treat it. Gleevec is a drug that is often used to treat GIST tumor. The primary tumor or small tumor can be removed from surgical operation. In case, if tumor is not removed properly then Gleevec drug is used. This drug has become a very useful aid as a boon to treat gist. There are some Gleevec side effects, common and severe. Common side effects include fluid retention, muscle cramps or pain and bone pain, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased hemoglobin, nausea, fatigue, skin reactions, some severe and loss of appetite. It is always better to consult with doctors in case patients facing side effects because there are some severe side effects.
Life Raft Group provides gist support for patients suffering from such a rare disease. This group provides information, details, consultation and support to GIST patients and their family members. The main aim of group is survival of such patients and maintaining their life standard.