Those people who
suffer from a chronic heartburn which has gone on to continue beyond a year or
so, must seek immediate medical attention in order to check if they have got barrett’s disease.
Research studies have shown that almost a hundred million people suffer from Barrett’s disease globally. This is a
potentially dangerous and also a deadly disease which can develop over time
because of frequent and recurring acid refluxes inside your esophagus or the
food pipe. It can damage the inner lining tissues inside the food pipe.
Barrett’s disease requires to get
monitored closely and may even require some treatment. The reason for this is
because these damages to the tissues are the first signs of esophageal cancer.
It is not easy
to see the symptoms of esophageal cancer, initially it will feel like the
patient is having trouble in swallowing his food just. This type of cancer gets
diagnosed only in the later stages. The cancer spreads to other parts of the
body and thereby complicates medication and the chances of survival are, as a
result of this, quite low. The main problem however does start with frequent
acid refluxes. So a wise thing would be to treat the acid reflux first when it
happens without ignoring it.
Diagnosing Barrett’s
disease: You must ask your doctor regarding the screening process initially.
You have to determine whether you have Barrett’s
disease or not. Your doctor might be required to do an endoscopy
for diagnosis here. The examination will consist of inserting flexible tubes
inside the mouth and then probing them down towards the bottom of the esophagus
in order to look for any damaged tissue linings. There will be a little camera
which will be attached to the end of this tube which will transmit images of
the digestive system to the viewing screen.
Transformation
of Barrett’s disease into esophageal cancer:
Barrett’s
disease can get transformed into esophageal cancer. There are no set signs of esophageal cancer, because
the patient never feels that he or she has any serious problem. But there are
certain things to watch out for. If a person is having recurrent difficulty in
swallowing food, for instance, then it can be taken as a signs of
esophageal cancer especially if this is accompanied with severe
heartburns and chest pains. The other symptoms are vomiting of blood, recurrent
feeling of nausea, weakness in the mouth, recurrent indigestion. The cancer can
develop in the tissue lining of esophagus. It will slowly start spreading and
can go on to develop into a little tumour. It is only once the tumour has
already developed, do people go for checking up to the doctor. The cancer can
spread to other vital organs like the lungs and the liver. These are the
reasons which make diagnosing and treating this disease so difficult.
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