October 23, 2008
LIVESTRONG.COM
Esophageal cancer is a form of cancer that starts in the inner layer of a 10-inch long tube that connects your throat and stomach. Learn about the different causes, symptoms, and treatments for Esophageal Cancer in this video.
Dr. Davis is one of San Francisco's finest house call specialist physicians and has been providing house calls and office visits to the Bay Area since 2005. His practice is built upon the philosophy that excellent customer service and excellent patient care go together. Dr. Davis works out of a charming 100-year-old Victorian home, and he believes that healing should begin when you walk in the door. While trained in modern medicine, Dr. Davis also has a deep appreciation of cultural anthropology, the natural sciences, and philosophy all of which he integrates with his medical practice. Dr. Davis received his MD from the University of Florida and completed his Family Practice residency at Lehigh Valley Family Practice. He has also lived, studied, and traveled abroad extensively, including for one year in Beijing, China, where he studied and practiced the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.
JUSTIN C. K. DAVIS, MD: Hi, I am Dr. Justin Davis. Today, I am going to describe to you esophageal cancer. Esophageal cancer is a condition where the esophagus which is the tube that goes from the throat down to the stomach and all foods, saliva, and any kind of liquid must pass through the esophagus. So, esophageal cancer is when the esophagus gets a cancer in the inner lining of it and becomes cancerous. The main causes for esophageal cancer are typically associated with chronic irritation which can often come from tobacco products or any kind of smoking. Also, chronic acid reflux coming up can be very irritating and that can cause irritation which can eventually lead to esophageal cancer. Typical symptoms that are associated with having esophageal cancer, unfortunately, do not usually present until much later on when it has become more advanced but these will be, as you can imagine, difficulty swallowing, maybe difficulty speaking, sometimes you will spit or cough up blood as part of the symptoms. There is, however, something called Barrett esophagus. Barrett esophagus describes a let us call it a precancerous condition where the cells of the esophagus begin to change. Now, this does not always lead to cancer but it can at times and this is usually caused by chronic irritation as well of the esophagus and some early signs of Barrett esophagus are those hoarse kinds of deep voice changes that you will hear in people; often in long-time smokers you will hear this. So, if you have a temporary change in your voice, that is nothing to worry about, but when you have chronic voice changes that could be the sign of some changes in your esophagus that are definitely important to be evaluated by a physician. Now, if you have been diagnosed with esophageal cancer, the treatment typically will involve a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. This all depends upon what you decide is best for you with your physician and the stage of the disease and if it has spread to any other tissues or not. The primary prevention for esophageal cancer is stop smoking. So if you are a smoker, of course, as we know this can cause many, many problems, but it is also a primary cause of esophageal cancer. Even if you do not smoke but you use other tobacco products such as dip or any kind of chewing tobacco, this can also cause other kinds of cancer but esophageal cancer as well; and if you have chronic heartburn, do not ignore that; bring that to the attention of a doctor because that is something that can be treated early on and can prevent some cases of esophageal cancer. So, really, what to take away is that if you have any of the symptoms described above such as difficulty swallowing, changes in your voice and not just on a very short-term basis but these are chronic changes then, do not wait but tell your physician right away.
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