My friend Dennis has, it seems, dodged the bullet. Yesterday he underwent the endoscopic ultrasound to determine whether the cancer had penetrated the wall of his oesophagus. The surgeon told Dennis that if it had not penetrated the wall he would go ahead and remove it. Fortunately for Den it had not and the surgeon went ahead and removed the nodule and stopped the bleeding with an application of diluted adrenaline and the application of two clips. There is to be a follow-up at the same hospital in about a week.
Unbeknown to Dennis he had a complaint named Barrett's Syndrome which is a scarring of the oesophagus due to acid from gastric reflux. It seems that the body tries to repair the affected area by covering it with tissue from the lower gastrointestinal tract. Problem there is that that tissue is prone to carcinoma. So if you have had persistent gastric reflux over some period, ask your GP if an endoscopy is a good idea. It certainly was a good idea for Dennis.
The procedure was done at the newly commissioned Fiona Stanley hospital.
Fiona Stanley Hospital in Western Australia....here.
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