Identifying dysphagia in esophageal cancer

Depending on the cause and condition of each person, there will be different levels of difficulty swallowing. This disease appears usually due to a certain disease in the esophagus, oropharynx or more dangerous, it can be the earliest warning sign of esophageal cancer.

Esophageal Cancer is a condition that occurs in the esophagus (the long hollow tube that connects the throat to the stomach) and helps move food when swallowed from the back of the throat to the esophagus. stomach to be digested) with malignant tumor invasion. Patients with esophageal cancer often have a poor prognosis. Although current medicine has made great progress, the effectiveness of treatment is still very low, the rate of patients with esophageal cancer can survive. over 5 years does not exceed 10%.
Like other cancers, esophageal cancer is the result of uncontrolled cell division and leads to the unlimited growth of body cells. Initially, cancer cells grow in a small scale and then continue to multiply to form malignant tumors. For people with esophageal cancer, the tumor is still in the esophageal tissue in the early stages, then it grows and invades surrounding structures or spreads throughout the patient's body.
Esophageal cancer cells usually originate in the inner layer of the esophagus and then spread to the outside, at which point the patient will experience difficulty swallowing.

Dysphagia is a term that refers to the difficulty of swallowing food and water in a patient. Usually, patients experience dysphagia when they have diseases in the oesophagus, caused by pressure on the esophagus or disease in the oropharynx. However, there are also many cases of esophageal cancer.
When dysphagia is a sign of esophageal cancer, the severity will vary depending on the stage of the disease. In the early stages, the patient can still chew and swallow food through the esophagus gently and only feel pain when swallowing, however, when the disease is more advanced, even liquid foods will not. can pass through the esophagus to the stomach, the patient will not be able to eat and drink and vomit continuously.
Most patients with esophageal cancer to experience difficulty swallowing or choking, even swallowing saliva also feels painful and difficult to do. Therefore, patients need to be diagnosed early to increase the chances of treatment and recovery.
Dysphagia in esophageal cancer is quite similar to other diseases, so it is often easy for patients to be subjective to serious disease before treatment. Some signs that help identify dysphagia in patients with esophageal cancer include:
Feeling a lot of pain when swallowing food or water When the disease is severe, you can't swallow Always feel a lump in the neck or side behind the sternum hoarseness, drooling Constant vomiting, heartburn Food backs up in the throat Rapid weight loss Mild and frequent anemia Frequent sore throat or back pain, behind the breastbone or In the severe stage, the patient will feel a burning throat, prolonged cough, coughing up blood Feeling short of breath, spitting up phlegm, ...

Dysphagia can be a sign of esophageal cancer or due to many causes, therefore, when there is prolonged and severe dysphagia, the patient must absolutely not be subjective but must go to the hospital. to be examined by a specialist to accurately diagnose the condition of the disease, to devise an appropriate treatment plan.
In addition, to make eating easier and not hindered by dysphagia, the patient should:
Eat and drink in an appropriate space and time, comfortably Sit up straight and keep your arms close to your body When eating Hands should be on your lap, not on the table Prepare soft, easy-to-swallow foods, eat slowly, little by little Swallow food several times to make sure they don't stay in your mouth Focus on eating and not talking or lying down while eating.

Difficulty swallowing is one of the earliest warning signs of esophageal cancer in patients. In addition, to accurately diagnose esophageal cancer in patients, it is also necessary to perform additional tests such as:
Esophageal X-ray: To help detect abnormalities in the esophagus clearly At best, the doctor can see images of narrowing of the esophagus or images of tumors through X-rays. Computed tomography (CT): Provides high accuracy when cancer cells have spread into the esophageal wall and can help detect whether the tumor has metastasized to the mediastinum. Endoscopy: Esophageal endoscopy with biopsy are mandatory tests in cases where X-rays cannot identify the patient's condition. At the same time, endoscopy will help doctors assess the extent of cancer and the nature of the tumor. Endoscopic ultrasound: To determine the depth of tumor invasion into the esophageal wall in the patient and assess whether the tumor has invaded the esophageal lymph nodes or not. Esophageal cancer is a disease with a high risk of death for patients and currently has no cure. Therefore, the best way to prevent the disease is to give up the habit of drinking, smoking, changing the diet. diet and increase the amount of vegetables and fruits eaten daily.
Customers can directly go to Vinmec Health system nationwide to visit or contact the hotline here for support.
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