Do you or anyone you care about suffer from heartburn or acid reflux?

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AngieD
AngieD Member Posts: 493
in Breast Cancer #1
Teri posted about a friend who had BC and now has Esophageal Cancer. My husband has EC and I belong to a couple of EC boards. I have never heard of EC metastasizing from someplace else altho' it is notorious for metastasizing to other locations.

April is coming up and is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month. It is the fastest increasing cancer in the Western World. And it is no longer a disease of older people. Many in their 30's and 40's are being diagnosed with advanced stages. Heartburn means caustic acid from the stomach is splashing upward, burning the lining of the esophagus. This can cause the cells of the esophagus to change in a way that becomes precancerous and then cancer. If found early, it can be easily and simply cured. A simple endoscopy can check for these early changes or early cancer. So, if you or anyone you care about suffer from heartburn or acid reflux, please INSIST on getting an endoscopy. Many doctors are woefully unaware of this. If one waits for symptoms (usually food feeling like it gets stuck) there are no quick and easy fixes. It's possible that endoscopies could eventually become almost as common as mammograms as screening procedures. But not yet. For more information go to:
www.ecan.org

I don't want any of my Pink Sisters to beat this beast only to become Purple (the EC color)Sisters and have another beast to fight!

Angie

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  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    #2
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    Thanks for posting this, Angie
    I'm now going to go speak with my husband. He has had reflux for years - many, many years - most of the time controlled with medication. Several years ago (maybe 5) he had an endoscopy and there were some precancerous changes. His primary care physician retired and this has not been followed up.

    Suzanne
  • AngieD
    AngieD Member Posts: 493
    #3
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    Double Whammy said:

    Thanks for posting this, Angie
    I'm now going to go speak with my husband. He has had reflux for years - many, many years - most of the time controlled with medication. Several years ago (maybe 5) he had an endoscopy and there were some precancerous changes. His primary care physician retired and this has not been followed up.

    Suzanne

    Oh, yes, Suzanne, please do
    Oh, yes, Suzanne, please do get it scheduled ASAP. There are just way too many stories of folks being prescribed antacids, Prevacid, etc. and the docs never checking the esophagus (my husband's included.) We had never known anyone who had EC when he was diagnosed. Now, we're finding cases all around.
    Angie

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