Gastrointestinal cancers are the most common cancers worldwide. For example, one in every twenty individuals will develop colon cancer.
Common GI cancers include cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, colon, gall bladder, bile duct, pancreas and liver. Their treatment depends on the stage in which they are found. If detected early and before they have spread in the body, they can potentially be cured by surgery.
However, the gastrointestinal system is encased in a protective abdominal wall and the oesophagus is seated deep inside the chest. Because of their location, the symptoms develop late in the course of the disease and when they do develop they are vague and nonspecific. Hence diagnosing these cancers is difficult in the early stages and the best way to save yourself is to avoid them altogether.