How serious is this problem? My dad is 51 years old, and the doctor said that he has 5 or 6 ulcers on his esophagus, and one of them may be cancerous. I want to know if it is life threatening and if so, how long is his life expectancy. He has had treatment for acid reflux disease, and it has eaten up a good portion of his esophagus. The doctor gave him some medicine to take for about 8 weeks before he goes in for a scope. If the scope shows the medicine hasn’t worked, they will have to proceed with a major surgery to cut out about 3 inches of his esophagus. Is that surgery life threatening?
As smart as doctors are and as caring as they can be … I think I would skip the 8 week course of meds and request a scope asap.
Just prior to my husband (age 45) being diagnosed with EC he was having trouble swallowing. The family doctor suggested he could give him a scripe for a 21 day course of Nexium and then have him scoped or just have him scoped right away. He has an appt with the gastro doctor that week and by Thursday had the scope and got the EC diagnosis.
There is a condition called Barrett’s Esophagus that is pretty serious and can turn into EC. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/barretts-esophagus/HQ00312.
Not saying this is what is happening with your dad (cause I am not a medical doctor) but anything to do with the esophagus is pretty dang serious and should be treated agressively and not a wait and see type position.
EC is the fastest growing cancer in the U.S. While many cancers are seeing a decrease in the number of diagnosis yearly, EC has increased dramatically.
You will have many of your questions answered about EC here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/esophageal-cancer/DS00500/DSECTION=1
I hope all goes well for your dad.
Thank you for your message. I don’t entirely know what’s really going on with my dad. He doesn’t like to talk about it, and never really tells us what the doctors have said. Just what we want to hear really. But I do know that he has already had the Laparoscopic nissen fundoplication treatment a couple of years ago, and the doctors said that the surgery failed. He had a couple of ulcers on his esophagus then. When he went back to the doctors here recently, he had 5 or 6 ulcers, and one of them they said is possibly cancerous. That’s when they put him on different meds to take for 8 weeks and then go back in for a scope to see if they helped or cleared up anything. If not then he goes back to surgery. He is under a lot of stress, and has to work out in the heat everyday. I can hear him coughing up in the bathroom now and then. I’m just worried about him.
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From: LisaAndy esophageal-cancer-cpt4208@lists.careplace.com
I understand how tough it must be to wonder what is going on when you dad sounds like he is a pretty private guy.
Did your dad mention whether or not the doctor did a biopsy when they did the scope the last time?
On his last visit a few days ago, the doctor showed him what his esophagus looked like and the damage that was done to it. The only thing he really said to us is that it didn’t look pretty…
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From: LisaAndy esophageal-cancer-cpt4208@lists.careplace.com
I cannot stress how important it is not to wait on meds for 8 weeks. Do the
scope now. If it is cancer, 8 weeks may mean the difference in him living
or dying. The fact he is coughing up his foods is a terrible indication it’s
not just ulcers or a simple problem. Private or not, make him understand
waiting may mean he won’t be there for you and his family.
Denise
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All surgery is risky, but untreated esophageal cancer is deadly. I watched
a very loving man go from 210 pound to 80 pounds when he died 3 years later.
He had the surgery but didn’t take the chemo and radiation because 20 years
ago the surgeons weren’t very aggressive treating this disease. My opinion
is get aggressive and if the doc doesn’t, dump him for a more aggressive one.
Denise
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