I am worried sick about my illness. I think I have advanced Acid reflux disease.?

Question

I am 29 years old male. For 3 weeks now I have had nausea, heartburn, chest pains. I finally got an appointment with a doctor next week. Ive been told by people that i have acid reflux disease. The bottom of my front teeth is discolored. Ive been told thats because of stomache acid. Also it hurts when I swallow. Someone told me that I may have esophagul cancer ? Should I be worried even though I am only 29 ? Im worried sick.What are my odds for having a cancer like that ? I know that only a doctor can give me sure answers but I got 4 days and Im worried. Thanks

Answer 1

My opinion is this... Don't worry about something that you are unsure of. I mean really, what good are you doing yourself creating a scenario in your mind that you have cancer. Go to the doctor, find out what it is first, then take the steps to recover. Allot of people have GERD. Gastroesophegeal reflux that causes the same symptoms you are experiencing. And that is not CANCER... Calm down, take a deep breath and don't listen to people who tell you you have cancer before you ever even go to the doctor!!

Best wishes

Answer 2

Don't sweat it so much. GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) can be dangerous if untreated, but there are tons of different therapies out there. Your doc will probably ask you a lot of questions about your diet and intake habits (smoking, alcohol, spicy foods, eating too fast, overeating, eating late at night) and recommend some minor lifestyle changes. If any of these work for you, no problem.

However, even if you're extremely unlucky you will probably just end up taking a proton-pump inhibitor like Aciphex or Prilosec OTC. Worst-case scenario they might recommend surgery to resect the sphincter muscle in your stomach (make the aperture from your esophagus to your stomach smaller).

Esophageal cancer usually takes a long time to pop up in these cases, so since it's only been going on for a couple weeks, you should be fine. Still, get the doctor to check it out.

And by the way, stress can make it worse, so cool it.

Answer 3

I have a male friend who was recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer w/metastasis (liver now). He had no symptoms up until 2 weeks of being diagnosed. He began to lose weight very fast, got to where he could not swallow hardly at all, had chest pains along with it, began to throw up his food and drink. When he would eat or drink it felt like the food just stopped and wouldnt go down all the way. I begged him to go to doctor, he had egd and colonoscopy and they found Stage !V cancer. The oncologist said that he has probably had it for at least 1 year and possibly 2. But esophageal cancer is very aggressive, and there is no cure. He is on radiation treatments 5 days a week for 7 weeks and for 5 days every month he will have to undergo chemo up to 6 months and then will be re-evaluated to see if it has done any good and if it has they will continue further with it. If not they will cease the chemo. The could have operated on his cancer in the esophagus but since it has now spread to his liver they cannot. Do yourself a huge favor and get checked out asap. This cancer began with an ulcer in his esophagus caused by GERD. Please please please get it checked out ASAP. I did not tell you all of this gory stuff to scare you, I told you because I care and that I know you need to be treated if it is only GERD and I hope it is, there is help for you. DO NOT PUT THIS OFF ANY LONGER PLEASE. There is no cure for this type of cancer only relief from the pain and swelling. I pray that the Lord heals your body whatever it is you have and continues to bless you in everything you do.

Answer 4

I highly doubt that it is cancer. Remember, big bad illnesses have big bad symptoms. If it is acid reflux, then you will be perscribed a medication to keep it in check. Your worrying does nothing besides make the problem worse if it is acid reflux. There was a song a few years back that had a line something to the effect of "Worrying is as effective as chewing bubble gum to solve an algrebra equation." I think that applies here.