Connect
← Return to Father Diagnosis: Hereditary/Genetic Factor with Esophageal Cancer?
Discussion
Father Diagnosis: Hereditary/Genetic Factor with Esophageal Cancer?
Esophageal Cancer | Last Active: Mar 18 10:47pm | Replies (7)Comment receiving replies
Hi, this is my 2nd post to this group (1st post: Father Recent Diagnosis, March 2024)
This is a question about me: what are the genetic/hereditary factors of esophageal cancer?
I have multiple symptoms popping up recently, some being treated at Mayo Phoenix/Scottsdale, some are not being treated at all. Those not being treated I chalked up as adjunct issues, issues related to the primary reasons why I started going to Mayo in the first place. I now have a new symptom in the last two weeks that I can't attribute to being related, and a urgent care doctor referred me to a local GI specialist. That referral appointment is in late June 2024. The Mayo Clinic GI department is not accepting new patients at this time.
And, now this esophageal cancer diagnosis for my dad. Sometimes the Internet is bad because searching for esophageal cancer info pops up the recent symptoms I am experiencing. It seems like many health issues have the same or similar symptoms but coming up at the same time as a recent esophageal cancer diagnosis? Ugh coincidence ?
Thanks.
Replies to "Hi, this is my 2nd post to this group (1st post: Father Recent Diagnosis, March 2024)..."
I would talk and press your Mayo doctor to refer you to the GI depart. ASAP.
June is a long time to go by...
The earlier you get tested, the better for your own peace of mind.
My husband doesn't have any family history either, but here we are ....
As I've talked to hundreds of patients worldwide, I can't say that EC is known to have a genetic component. But... I certainly know of a few families where brothers have it, or father/son etc. Statistical ? Yeah maybe. Is the genetic connection more for how we're built inside, more likely to have hiatal hernias and suffer from GERD? Who knows. It seems half the planet has acid reflux problems which can lead to changes in the esophageal lining over many many years... and then possibly EC. Still... even those who develop Barrett's esophagus rarely go on to develop actual EC. Even smoking and drinking I have not seen a study or link to EC... although we know smoking is surely linked to many cancers and other comorbidities.
I’m with the others. Happy to talk about my experience which began about one year ago. Described in my profile.
@pvclassic, most esophageal cancers are not linked to a family history and don’t have a known cause. A small number of esophageal cancers are linked to genes passed through families.
Here's a good article that explains further:
- Is Esophageal Cancer Hereditary? https://www.healthline.com/health/cancer/is-esophageal-cancer-hereditary
You can make yourself crazy with looking up symptoms on the internet. At the same time, I understand your concern.
Has it been determined if your father's diagnosis is related to an inherited genetic mutation like the RHBDF2 gene? Or does he have the more commonly diagnosed esophageal adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma type?
Did he or do you have Barrett's esophagus?
Connect
pvclassic
Hi
I don't have any known family genetic factors, but I did get esophageal cancer diagnosis after endoscopy found cancerous tumor in my lower esophagus that was causing me to cough and spitup a lot of flem. I ended up having 28 days of chemo and radiation which completely eliminated the cancer with no surgery. I did have feeding tube for a while during it all. The good news is that is that it is treatable. I'd be happy to answer questions about it?