1. < Esophageal Cancer

Father Diagnosis: Hereditary/Genetic Factor with Esophageal Cancer?

Posted by pvclassic @pvclassic, Mar 13 6:55am

Hi, I just joined 3/12/2024 to gain knowledge. I must say after reading some of the posts about this journey that my 85 yr old father is starting that I am very saddened. Both my parents live in another state near my one, and only, sibling and her family. I can't get there until the end of April 2024 at the earliest and his treatment starts in 2, maybe 3 weeks, at the end of March 2024 to the first week of April 2024.

All I know is my dad coughed some black stuff up in early November 2023, went to his primary care and was scheduled for an endoscopy. That was done in early March 2024 and was followed up by a PET scan. Both exams confirmed the existence of a esophageal cancer. The Radiologist and Oncologist said it is minor, small, less than 3 cm, and the outlook looks good. Surgery was not mentioned, just radiation, chemo, and a feeding tube. We are all fearful of this diagnosis and upcoming treatment..

Thanks for reading.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Esophageal Cancer Support Group.

pvclassic | @pvclassic | Mar 13 7:33am

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.

REPLY
5 replies
Mentor
Don Higgins, Volunteer Mentor | @dsh33782 | Mar 13 9:02am
In reply to @pvclassic "Hi, this is my 2nd post to this group (1st post: Father Recent Diagnosis, March 2024)..." + (show)
@pvclassic

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.

Jump to this post

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?

REPLY
1 reply
jcrs | @jcrs | Mar 13 12:39pm
In reply to @pvclassic "Hi, this is my 2nd post to this group (1st post: Father Recent Diagnosis, March 2024)..." + (show)
@pvclassic

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.

Jump to this post

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 ....

REPLY
mrgvw | @mrgvw | Mar 14 6:51am
In reply to @pvclassic "Hi, this is my 2nd post to this group (1st post: Father Recent Diagnosis, March 2024)..." + (show)
@pvclassic

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.

Jump to this post

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.

REPLY
gdj | @gdj | Mar 17 8:49am
In reply to @pvclassic "Hi, this is my 2nd post to this group (1st post: Father Recent Diagnosis, March 2024)..." + (show)
@pvclassic

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.

Jump to this post

I’m with the others. Happy to talk about my experience which began about one year ago. Described in my profile.

REPLY
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Mar 18 11:04am
In reply to @pvclassic "Hi, this is my 2nd post to this group (1st post: Father Recent Diagnosis, March 2024)..." + (show)
@pvclassic

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.

Jump to this post

@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?

REPLY
red77465 | @red77465 | Mar 18 10:47pm
In reply to @dsh33782 "pvclassic Hi I don't have any known family genetic factors, but I did get esophageal cancer..." + (show)
@dsh33782

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?

Jump to this post

Hi, what stage was your cancer? My husband has stage 4 esophageal cancer and it has metastised to his stomach. Oncologist said not alot of celks in stomach but more than they like yo see. He has only had 2 chemo treatments so far. I guess I'm just looking for hope in this group.

REPLY
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