Oesophageal cancer is one of those cancers that are not commonly diagnosed until and unless a patient addresses signs or symptoms. If you notice among the signs related to oesophageal cancer and your cancer surgeon suspects it is based on your symptoms, then you must go for diagnostic tests like endoscopy, endoscopic ultrasound, imaging tests, biopsy, and lab tests. But before you go for any of the diagnostic tests, you must know some of the early warning signs of oesophageal cancer. So, here we are telling you about early warning signs or symptoms of oesophageal cancer.
Let’s get into it!
- Trouble swallowing: Some of the patients who paste difficulty following their food alters their food intake to prevent discomfort. When they experience difficulty in swallowing the food, they might want to eat less, take smaller bites, or switch to liquid foods. Oesophageal cancer can also cause decreased appetite in an individual.
- Chest pain or discomfort: An oesophageal cancer can cause a burning sensation in the middle of the chest. And with this particular type of cancer, the chest pain is chronic and doesn’t go away. Some may experience temporary pains while swallowing food. The oncologist recommends some tests to know whether the chest pain is from cancer or something else.
- Indigestion and heartburn: Heartburn is another way of describing chest pain. The tumour in the oesophagus may cause a great discount in the upper abdomen.
- Hoarseness: If an individual develops oesophageal cancer, then it may squeeze up the vocal cords and cause changes in the voice. In some cases, the vocal cords stop working completely and this is a result that causes an individual to stop speaking.
- Chronic cough: If an individual develops oesophageal cancer, then it may cause excessive bleeding which may lead to a persistent cough. It may even create a connection between the oesophagus and the trachea which causes more bleeding.
- Bleeding in the oesophagus: An abnormal tumour in the oesophagus can cause building in the throat which may make its way through the stomach. This blood may cause the stool to turn black. If this kind of heavy bleeding may occur for a longer period, then it may cause a condition called anaemia.
The above-mentioned warning signs of oesophageal Cancer are enough to give you an idea of what an oesophageal cancer can cause. Thus, it becomes crucial for an individual to seek treatment as soon as possible by consulting the best cancer surgeon in Bhopal. You must not ignore any warning signs of oesophageal cancer as it may lead to severe consequences in the future.