What are the symptoms of esophageal cancer and why we should not ignore them

It is the sixth most common cause of death from cancer in the world, and yet many people do not realize that they suffer from the disease.

Esophageal cancer it does not cause symptoms at the beginning of the disease.

This was what happened to the former Scottish soccer player, Andy Goram, who served as a goalkeeper and played for various clubs in Scotland and England, and who recently revealed that suffers from esophageal cancer.

The news shook his followers when Goram, from 33 years old, said he had been given about 6 months to live.

In an interview, the former soccer player explained that he first felt sick about 7 weeks ago when he had trouble eat and drink.

But he ignored the heartburn he suffered initially after not being able to get an appointment with his GP.

Like Goram, many patients treated for cancer esophageal cancer have talked about how this disease presents at first without symptoms, or with symptoms that are often easily ignored.

“I ignored it like everyone else”

Paul Sinclair, from Fife, Scotland, told the BBC that he began experiencing what “felt like gas in the lower part of the rib cage” in September 58. Sinclair also had the feeling that he had “eaten too much in one bite.”

“I ignored him like everyone else”, he says. “I felt like I had gas. I was eating well, I had no pain”.

“It was just a nuisance under my rib cage. It went on for about a week and a half and then I thought, ‘I’m going to see someone about this.’

“I went to the doctor and he sent me straight for an endoscopy. That confirmed that she had a tumor in the upper part of her stomach.”

Sinclair underwent 4 chemotherapy sessions over an eight week period before a 6 week break.

Then he had an operation of 11 hours, which also included removal of the spleen. Later he underwent “very aggressive chemotherapy” again.

“I was very sick with both chemotherapy sessions”, he explains. “The second one was worse because you are already weak after the operation”.

“As you recover, you have to start learning to eat again, to chew food well, to eat portions small and many meals throughout the day”.

Now, 3 years later, Sinclair can go back to the gym for a light workout, but things will never be “quite normal”.

“You have to stay positive and be grateful for every day you wake up”, he assures.

“The most important thing is that I did not have particularly serious symptoms, but it is very necessary not to ignore them and check yourself ”.

What are the symptoms of esophageal cancer

The esophagus is the long tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. The main symptoms of cancer are:

• have trouble swallowing (dysphagia)
• feel or have nausea
• heartburn or reflux
symptoms of indigestion, such as burping a lot

Other symptoms include:

• a cough that does not improve
• a hoarse voice
• loss of appetite or weight loss without trying to lose it
• feeling tired or without energy
• pain in the throat or in the middle of the chest, especially when swallowing

Source: NHS (UK National Health Service)



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“You never fully recover”

Linda Moffat, who also lives in Scotland, considered herself her 48 years a woman in good physical shape, who rode a horse every day.

But in December 2014 began to feel “that the food did not go down, as if it was sticking to me,” he recalled. “The pain increased and the food got stuck.”

“I had to vomit to unblock it. I thought it was an ulcer. We thought it was not going to be anything serious”.

After a while, he says that he “plucked up the courage to talk to the doctor” and was prescribed antacids. But the symptoms continued and she was sent for an endoscopy.

That revealed a “very advanced tumor” in her esophagus and this was “the beginning of a very long and difficult journey”, she explains.

“It is a very aggressive cancer and the surgery is really brutal: eight hours in the operating room,” he said. “You have chemotherapy before and after. You must learn to eat again”.

“And you have many problems with vomiting, diarrhea and pain. I think you never fully recover”.

“I am very lucky. My cancer was very advanced and I only had one 20% chance of survival”, he says.

“But it has been almost seven years and I am very happy to to be alive and very grateful to everyone who helped me to be here”.

“This disease is often called ‘the silent killer’ because the symptoms vary a lot,” he adds. “You just pray that people go to the doctor soon enough.”

“The sooner the better”

Caroline Geraghty, a specialist nurse at Cancer Research UK, says that the risk of esophageal cancer is increased by “the typical things”, such as smoking, drinking alcohol and gaining weight, as well as chewing tobacco.

“But having a higher risk does not mean that you will definitely have cancer,” he points out. “In most people, it is not known why they have esophageal cancer.”

Geraghty urged anyone who thinks they may have symptoms to go to your GP “to be sure”.

“As we know, the sooner you get to cancer, the greater the chances you have”, he added.

But he stresses that for the majority of patients who experience symptoms, these will not be related to cancer.

“We can understand why some GPs don’t they send the patient directly to an endoscopy to investigate; some people only need antacids”, he points out.

“But there will be other people who may require an investigation more quickly”.

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