Drinking every night with friends? Smoking every now and then? You need to have a lifestyle check because you may be at risk for esophageal cancer. 90% of cases of esophageal cancer are due to excessive alcoholism and tobacco use. Men should be the most cautious because they are three times higher at risk. You may not be affected yet now but the effects of this kind of lifestyle may be showing up when you get 50 or older. This is the most common age where cases are more likely to develop.
In the list of leading causes of cancer-related deaths in the world, esophageal cancer ranks the seventh. It is also the third most common type of cancer of the digestive system. For the early part of the cancer, symptoms may not yet be visible but as the medical condition further develops, symptoms will begin to appear. This is characterized by coughing of blood, difficult and painful swallowing, chronic cough, severe weight loss and vomiting. Persons having esophageal cancer also experience pain in the throat, back and having heartburns.
This cancer starts in the mucosa and develops further into the upper, middle or lower section of the esophagus. There are two types of esophageal cancer. These are squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma develops in the flat cells lining the esophagus. Most of the cases of this type of esophageal cancer happen in the middle part of the esophagus. Adenocarcinoma, which is associated with Barret’s esophagus, develops in the lining of the esophagus. Most of the cases happen in the esophagus’s lower part.
In the first type of esophageal cancer, squamos cell carcinoma, the factors that contribute to its development are frequent drinking of alcohol and hot drinks, tobacco use, poor diet, frequently eating fermented vegetables and exposure to asbestos. As for the second type of esophageal cancer, adenocarcinoma, the medical condition is brought about due to untreated GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Other conditions may also contribute to the development of esophageal cancer. These are: achalasia, a condition that affects the esophagus muscles, helicobacter pylori infection, human papillomavirus infection, Plummer-Vinson symdrome, tylosis, a genetic skin disorder that triggers infection of the esophagus and previous experience of head and neck cancers.
To find out if you have the exhibit the signs for having esophageal cancer, you need to undergo certain tests. Different tests are available for diagnosis. These are needle aspiration or biopsy in which cells are removed for evaluation, blood tests, imaging tests, barium swallow and esophagoscopy, which examines the wall on your esophagus by inserting a tiny instrument into your body, just like an endoscopy.
Esophageal cancer is categorized into different stages depending on its condition. In stage 0, the cancers is called noninvasive. Meaning it is just in one place and doesn’t have the ability yet to spread to other parts of the body. But this doesn’t mean that it should just overlooked. It is still important to monitor this condition as it can develop into a more complicated condition. In stage I, the cancer is in the top layer of the esophagus’s lining. Stage II, is a more advanced case of stage I. In this case, the cancer penetrated into the deeper linings of the esophagus lining and may also spread to tissues or lymph nodes that are close. Stage III, exhibits the spread of the cancer more deeper into the wall of the esophagus and like Stage II, may spread to nearby tissues and lymph nodes. In the final stage of Stage IV, the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body.
Treatment of this medical condition depends on the stage of the esophageal cancer. Tests are also available to determine which stage your esophageal cancer fall on. Bronchoscopy, computerized tomography or CT scan, endoscopic ultrasound and positron emission tomography or PET scan are some of these. Once stages are identified, the corresponding treatment can then be applied. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are some of the options. Esophagetomy is the surgical option to treat esophageal cancer. In this operation, all or part of the esophagus is removed so are the lymph nodes and tissues that are close to the esophagus. In radiation therapy, high energy x-rays are used to destroy the cancer cells. This is usually combined with chemotherapy in which drugs are used to destroy the cancer cells. These two types of therapy though have side effects to the patients. In radiation technology, the patient may have difficulty swallowing, have dry and sour mouth and throat, experience fatigue, loss of appetite, reddening of the skin and swelling of the mouth and gums. In chemotherapy the side effects experienced are diarrhea, fatigue, hair loss, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and skin rash.
To avoid all these complications in the body, it is important to prevent esophageal cancer from happening. Having a healthy lifestyle is essential. Start thinking about how you live your everyday life to avoid esophageal cancer.
