The spleen is removed in some cases. The esophagus is connected to the small intestine so a patient can continue to eat and swallow. If only part of the stomach is removed, a patient should still be able to eat fairly normally. Frequent, small meals may need to be eaten, as well as foods low in sugar and high in fat and protein, if the entire stomach is removed. Most patients can adjust to this new way of eating.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells outside the stomach. Treatment given after surgery when no cancer cells can be seen is called adjuvant therapy. Adjuvant therapy for cancer of the stomach is being tested in clinical trials. Biological therapy tries to get the body to fight cancer.