Gastrointestinal Cancer
Cancers of the food pipe (oesophagus), stomach, colon, rectum, liver, gallbladder and pancreas. Their early symptoms imitate everyday digestion problems — which is exactly why persistent ones deserve testing instead of another course of antacids.
The short answer
Indigestion, acidity and altered bowel habit are usually harmless. They stop being routine when they persist beyond a few weeks, keep returning, or come with any red-flag sign: difficulty swallowing, black stools, blood in stool, vomiting, unexplained weight loss, or new jaundice. Those signs call for an endoscopy or scan — simple tests that either reassure you completely or catch a cancer while it is still operable.
Symptoms of gastrointestinal cancer
- 01Food sticking on the way downDifficulty swallowing solids — the classic sign of oesophageal cancer
- 02Persistent indigestion or upper-abdominal painLasting weeks, or new after age 45
- 03Black, tarry stools or blood in stoolBleeding anywhere in the digestive tract — never normal
- 04A change in bowel habitNew constipation, diarrhoea or narrow stools lasting more than three weeks
- 05Unexplained weight loss or loss of appetiteFeeling full after a few bites, clothes loosening without dieting
- 06JaundiceYellow eyes or skin, dark urine, pale stools — needs same-week attention
How these cancers are found
Endoscopy — a camera examination of the food pipe, stomach or colon — is the definitive test for most GI symptoms, done as a short daycare procedure. A biopsy taken during it settles the diagnosis. CT scanning stages the disease: how far it extends and whether surgery can remove it. None of this requires admission, and none of it should wait months.
How GI cancer is treated at CoreOnco
Surgery remains the curative core for most GI cancers — removing the involved segment of bowel, stomach or oesophagus with its lymph nodes. Many patients receive chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumour, after it to lower recurrence risk, or both; the sequence is decided in a tumour-board discussion, not by habit.
For rectal and some other tumours, minimally invasive and robotic approaches mean smaller cuts and faster recovery. Where a stoma (bag) is possible or necessary, we say so before the operation, explain whether it is temporary, and train you and your family in its care — it is far less limiting than most people fear.
What does GI cancer treatment cost?
Privately, major bowel, stomach and rectal cancer operations typically run ₹1.5–4 lakh, with 6–8 chemotherapy cycles where needed at ₹15,000–60,000 per cycle depending on regimen. Where a stoma is created, supplies cost roughly ₹2,000–5,000 monthly — a real number families deserve to hear before surgery, not after.
For PM-JAY-eligible families, covered surgery, chemotherapy and admission are cashless at our network hospitals, with the full written figure settled before admission.
Common questions
I have acidity for years. Should I worry?
Is colon cancer curable?
Will I need a permanent bag (stoma)?
Is treatment covered under Ayushman Bharat?
Treatments used for gastrointestinal cancer
- 01Surgical Oncology →Removing the tumour with clear margins — the foundation of curative cancer treatment
- 02Robotic Surgery →Precision-assisted operations with smaller cuts and faster recovery
- 03Chemotherapy →Drug treatment before or after surgery, as daycare or admission
- 04Targeted Therapy →Drugs matched to the specific mutation driving your tumour
- 05Palliative Care →Comfort, dignity and symptom control at every stage — not only the last one
Send us the biopsy report. We will tell you where you stand.
A second opinion costs you nothing and often changes the plan. Share your reports on WhatsApp and a surgical oncologist will review them before your first visit.