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    Esophageal Cancer, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis And Treatment
    Esophageal Cancer, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis And Treatment
    Esophageal Cancer, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis And Treatment
    Ebook132 pages1 hour

    Esophageal Cancer, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis And Treatment

    By Kenneth Kee

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    About this ebook

    Esophageal Cancer

    Esophageal cancer is not very common in family practices because most patients are either warded in hospital or undergoing special treatment in the hospitals.

    I used to see some cases in the general surgery wards.

    However esophageal cancer is not a common cancer.

    Any one who smokes or drinks alcohol is a potential victim of this form of cancer.

    What is Esophageal cancer?

    Esophageal cancer is the abnormal growth of malignant cells in the lining and wall of the
    esophagus which mutate and proliferate giving rise to the esophageal cancer growth.

    Esophageal Cancer can spread to the surrounding organs like liver, pancreas and colon.

    Once in the blood stream it can spread to the brain, bones and kidneys.

    What are the types of Esophageal cancer?

    There are 2 main types of esophageal cancer:

    1. Adenocarcinoma - more common 50% and present in lower one third of the gullet.

    2. Squamous Cell Carcinoma – 25% and present in upper one third of gullet

    The remaining 25% are rare undifferentiated cancer.

    What are the causes of Esophageal cancer?

    Causes:

    1. Age 65 or older

    2. Male: men are three times more likely as women to develop esophageal cancer.

    3. Smoking: smokers are more likely to develop esophageal cancer.

    4. Heavy drinking: increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

    5. Diet: meat and carbonated drinks increases the risk of adenocarcinoma

    6. Obesity: increases the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

    7. Acid reflux: may lead to adenocarcinoma of the esophagus in some people.

    8. Some pollutants and chemicals

    9. Tooth loss

    What are the symptoms of Esophageal cancer?

    In the early stages, esophageal cancer may have no symptoms.

    As it spread it can cause the following symptoms:

    1. Pain on swallowing

    2. Pain in the chest

    3. Heartburn

    4. Hoarse voice

    5. Loss of weight

    How is the diagnosis of Esophageal cancer made?

    Diagnosis is by:

    1. Medical history and complete physical exam.

    2. Barium meal swallow shows obstruction in the gullet

    3. Endoscopy: a thin, lighted tube is put into the mouth and passed down to the esophagus.

    4. Biopsy: During endoscopy, a small piece of the suspicious cancerous tissue is taken to check for cancer cells.

    This is called a biopsy sample which is then examined under a microscope for cancer cells.

    5. MRI and PET CT scans can detect any lymph nodes that are malignant.

    What is the treatment of Esophageal cancer?

    Treatment for esophageal cancer may include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or a combination of these treatments.

    The treatment of esophageal cancer is dependent on whether the cancer is just in the esophagus or if it has spread to other places in the body.

    The choice of treatment is also based on the person’s age and overall health.

    The cancer is usually staged or graded before treatment.

    A. Surgery

    Surgery is still the best form of treatment for esophageal cancer.

    For smaller cancers -partial removal of the esophagus is done.

    In early stages the cure rate is about 90%.

    For later stages of cancer, the whole esophagus and surrounding tissues may be removed and a feeding tube is placed in the small intestine

    B. Chemotherapy

    Chemotherapy is used as an adjuvant therapy together with surgery in the later stages of cancer and given though the veins

    C. Radiation treatment:

    Radiation can help to kill the cancer cells surrounding the esophageal cancer as well as to relieve pain.

    External and internal radiation may be done before or after surgery

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKenneth Kee
    Release dateSep 19, 2015
    ISBN9781311010155
    Esophageal Cancer, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis And Treatment
    Author

    Kenneth Kee

    Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

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      Book preview

      Esophageal Cancer, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis And Treatment - Kenneth Kee

      Esophageal Cancer,

      A

      Simple

      Guide

      To

      The Condition,

      Diagnosis

      And

      Treatment

      By

      Dr Kenneth Kee

      M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

      Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

      Copyright Kenneth Kee 2015 Smashwords Edition

      Published By Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated

      To my wife Dorothy

      And my children

      Carolyn, Grace

      And Kelvin

      This book describes the Esophageal Cancer, Diagnosis

      and Its Treatments or in vernacular terms

      (What You Need to treat Esophageal Cancer)

      This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

      If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Introduction

      Ode to Esophageal Cancer

      No one wants cancer or his body cell to becomes mutant

      But when the body mutates and become malignant

      There is nothing much that you can do about it

      All you do is hope the cancer cells can be removed by surgery

      The other treatments in the past is radiation or chemotherapy

      Now there are stem cells, hormone treatment and immunotherapy

      Targeted therapy is focused directly on a particular cluster of cancer cells

      The exact location where the cancer cells dwell

      Avoid smoking if possible; cigarette smoke has 40 types of carcinogens

      Avoid alcohol which can cause cancer of mouth, esophagus and liver conditions

      Avoid chemicals like asbestos, alfatoxins from nuts and silica

      Avoid sun rays, radiation from phones, viral infections and trauma

      -An original poem by Kenneth Kee

      Interesting Tips about the Esophageal Cancer

      A Healthy Lifestyle

      1. Take a well Balanced Diet

      2. As usual the treatment of cancer consists of Surgery, Radiation treatment and chemotherapy.

      The choice of treatment depends on the size, extent and the type cancer and the general health of the patient.

      A. Surgery

      Surgery is still the best form of treatment for esophageal cancer.

      For smaller cancers -partial removal of the esophagus is done.

      In early stages the cure rate is about 90%.

      For later stages of cancer, the whole esophagus and surrounding tissues may be removed and a feeding tube is placed in the small intestine

      B. Chemotherapy

      Chemotherapy is used in conjunction with surgery in later stages of cancer and given though the veins

      C. Radiation treatment:

      Radiation can help to kill the cancer cells surrounding the esophageal cancer as well as to relieve pain.

      External and internal radiation may be done before or after surgery

      3. Keep bones and body strong

      Bone marrow produces our blood

      Eat foods rich in calcium like yogurt, cheese, milk and dark green vegetables.

      Eat foods rich in Vitamin D, like eggs, fatty fish, cereal, and fortified milk.

      Eat food rich in Vitamins B and C such as green vegetables and fruits

      Zinc and other minerals are important to the body

      4. Get enough rest and Sleep

      Avoid stress and tension

      5. Exercise and stay active.

      It is best to do weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging, stair climbing, dancing, or lifting weights for 2½ hours a week.

      One way to do this is to be active 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week.

      Begin slowly especially if a person has not been active.

      6. Do not drink more than 2 alcohol drinks a day for a man or 1 alcohol drink a day for a woman.

      Alcohol can affect the neurons and brain cells.

      7. Stop or do not begin smoking.

      It also interferes with blood supply and healing.

      Cigarettes contain more than forty types of hazardous and possibly cancer causing chemicals which can harm the smokers and those around them

      Chapter 1

      Esophageal Cancer

      Esophageal cancer is not very common in family practices because most patients are either warded in hospital or undergoing special treatment in the hospitals.

      I used to see some cases in the general surgery wards.

      However esophageal cancer is not a common cancer.

      Any one who smokes or drinks alcohol is a potential victim of this form of cancer.

      What is Esophageal cancer?

      Esophageal cancer is the abnormal growth of malignant cells in the lining and wall of the

      esophagus which mutate and proliferate giving rise to the esophageal cancer growth.

      Esophageal Cancer can spread to the surrounding organs like liver, pancreas and colon.

      Once in the blood stream it can spread to the brain, bones and kidneys.

      What are the types of Esophageal cancer?

      There are 2 main types of esophageal cancer:

      1. Adenocarcinoma - more common 50% and present in lower one third of the gullet.

      2. Squamous Cell Carcinoma – 25% and present in upper one third of gullet

      The remaining 25% are rare undifferentiated cancer.

      What are the causes of Esophageal cancer?

      Causes:

      1. Age 65 or older

      2. Male: men are three times more likely as women to develop esophageal cancer.

      3. Smoking: smokers are more likely to develop esophageal cancer.

      4. Heavy drinking: increases the risk of squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

      5. Diet: meat and carbonated drinks increases the risk of adenocarcinoma

      6. Obesity: increases the risk of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.

      7. Acid reflux: may lead to adenocarcinoma of the esophagus in some people.

      8. Some pollutants and chemicals

      9. Tooth loss

      What are the symptoms of Esophageal cancer?

      In the early stages, esophageal cancer may have no symptoms.

      As it spread it can cause the following symptoms:

      1. Pain on swallowing

      2. Pain in the chest

      3. Heartburn

      4. Hoarse voice

      5. Loss of weight

      How is the diagnosis of Esophageal cancer made?

      Diagnosis is by:

      1. Medical history and complete physical exam.

      2. Barium meal swallow shows obstruction in the gullet

      3. Endoscopy: a thin, lighted tube is put into the mouth and passed down to the esophagus.

      4. Biopsy: During endoscopy, a small piece of the suspicious cancerous tissue is taken to check for cancer cells.

      This is called a biopsy sample which is then examined under a microscope for cancer cells.

      5. MRI and PET CT scans can detect any lymph nodes that are malignant.

      What is the treatment of Esophageal cancer?

      Treatment for esophageal cancer may

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