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Which specialist to diagnose esophagus?
Esophageal Cancer | Last Active: Aug 25, 2023 | Replies (13)Comment receiving replies
My husband had an endoscopy about 5 years ago, since he had acid reflux very often and he was taking Prilosec for years…which was (recommended by his primary physician…). I knew something was not right and I insisted that my husband should have an endoscopy, but after the procedure was done, the surgeon said that everything was ok…So my husband kept burping, having acid reflux and have taking Prilosec until now, five years later, when he started to have extreme difficulty to swallow food…So he finally had another endoscopy done from the same doctor. This time he said that he has esophagus cancer, but that fortunately it was just at the beginning. My husband then had MRI, Ct scan/Pet scan and the result is that he has stage 4 esophagus cancer! I am so disappointed about this doctor…He could not see anything 5 years ago…and even now his response was not correct???
Replies to "My husband had an endoscopy about 5 years ago, since he had acid reflux very often..."
It is important to understand exactly how our EC progresses, and exactly how it is discovered... and exactly how it is fully diagnosed. Now... so I sit here in judgement? Not really. And the reasons are multiple. First off, we as patients usually can accept our share of the blame. We often ignore our symptoms... for many many months. Then, when we basically can't swallow anymore, we go get things looked at. And then we must understand that esophageal cancer is a pretty rare cancer... while acid reflux and throat issues are not.... most of us have this... most of us pop some Tums or take Maalox or whatever. And then, even when we get referred on to take a better look with specialists... we need them to be able to physically see that something is amiss... and we need to look even deeper!
So, usually the biggest diagnostic piece of the puzzle (by a doctor), will come from the GI doctor. And whether the first level GI doctor can see Barrett's Esophagus... or maybe something worse, like low or high grade dysplasia, or even something much worse - a big ass tumor in our throats... this is how we are often within weeks of a full blown diagnosis. Because even our basic GI docs, the ones who give us our colonoscopies once we hit age 50, can do an endoscopy and grab a biopsy. And then quickly we are usually referred out to a more specialized GI doc who will do an EUS, and grab more biopsies. He'll also take a deep look around to see the invasive depth of our solid esophageal tumors, and look at nearby lymph nodes and other structures. This will be a key piece of our dx. And then scans are quickly ordered to see what spread, if any, is seen. Now an oncologist is assigned and treatments will begin.
But I've seen many things... where initial endoscopy showed little... and then a year later, major swallowing issues and a big ol tumor is seen. And certainly we're all unhappy when normal surveillance protocol, of taking a look every few years, is not enough, once our cancers have begun and rapidly grow! It is why most of us are discovered at stage 3 or stage 4. It takes a freak accident almost to be discovered at stage 1 to 2.
So let's get treatments going and see how he responds. That will be key. All the best.
Gary
@pabel1, I am SO sorry this happened to him.
Sadly it happens too often, even to people like you who try to do everything right. God bless you for sharing. . . .
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My husbands egd in 11/21 was stable Barrett’s as it had been for more than 20 yrs. 13 months later he had another egd because of something seen in a cardiac scan. He was found to have stage 4b esophageal adenocarcinoma. The fact it was HER2+ most likely contributed to the very fast spread. Unfortunately, that happens.