#EsophagealCancer: Cause and Effect

I thought I would explain the type of cancer my husband has and how, they think, he acquired it.  Indigestion runs in his family. By the time my father-in-law was 50 years of age he'd already had several stomach surgeries and he lived on Alka-Selzer which was, I believe, our daughter's first words only she said is more like alkeeselzer. When my husband developed severe acid indigestion it wasn't long before he carried a pack of Tums around in his pocket much like his dad.  He didn't care for Alka-Selzer. 

To make a long story short the day acid pump inhibitors became available, my husband was at the doctor's office and left with a prescription. Never again did he worry about what he could eat and what he could not. We figure he's been on Prilosec for thirty years.

One reason physicians are reevaluating their use of #PPIs is that while you are taking PPIs some acid pumps stop working while some pumps still produce enough acid that washes into the esophagus causing acid burns.  Constant acid burns in the esophagus cause the esophagus to 'think' it is the stomach because stomach acid so often attacks it.

Eventually, those esophageal cells begin to change to be more like stomach cells. Those cells grow rapidly. Some get Barrett's Esophagus which can, unless treated appropriately, morph into #cancer and then there are those that just get cancer. This is a layman's explanation, but accurate enough.

One day, years after being on PPIs, a sudden attack of indigestion hits you that can bring you to your knees. Day by day the symptoms become more painful. You begin to have trouble swallowing. Food or pills get 'stuck'. Pretty soon meat becomes a thing of the past and then thick foods like potato or oatmeal become impossible to pass.

​Most times, by the time a patient is seen, the cancer has already spread. Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus is an aggressive tumor if not the most aggressive one can have. While this type of cause and effect is still in the speculative stage, this is the only reason some physicians can find to explain the uptick in esophageal cancer that is occurring in the country today.  

If you or someone you love develops esophageal cancer after being on PPIs for years, please talk to your physician. If you are taking PPIs, maybe it's time to re-evaluate your usage and switch to a lower acid diet. #EsophagealCancer is a horribly aggressive disease that is damn hard to kill. There is a reason the over the counter box says to take no more than 14 days in a row.

​Yep, there really is.