GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Country music star Toby Keith recently passed away from stomach cancer. Is this type of cancer uncommon in North Carolina?
Keith announced his cancer diagnosis in 2022. Doctor Emmanuel Zervos with ECU Health said that North Carolina sees thousands of cases and deaths from this cancer every year. Zervos also said that it’s more than the national average.
“The reason for that is because of our high incidents of tobacco use, high incidents of eating processed and preserved foods, pain, weight loss, nausea, vomiting. Those are the things that need to be brought to your doctor’s attention sooner rather than later so they can go through the checklist to see where that’s coming from,” said Zervos.
Zervos added that stomach cancer is not something they usually screen for. If you have any of the symptoms or a family history, your doctor can run the appropriate tests.
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