It's a patient's nightmare: A visit to the doctor's office for a minor complaint reveals an incurable condition.For Ted Strucinski, a 49-year-old who lives near Chicago, it started with a cough. "My daughter urged me to go into the doctor because I had a cough after eating. I thought I had a cold or something," he said. He also had heartburn. "I never really thought too much about it. Pop a few Rolaids and you're fine. You eat a big burrito with a lot of hot peppers, of course you're going to have heartburn."
The eventual diagnosis shocked Strucinski. It was Barrett's esophagus, a condition that can lead to esophageal cancer.
Heartburn is common enough. More than 40 percent of healthy adults suffer from it at least once a month, 10 percent as often as once a week. Heartburn more than twice a week, however, can be a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Reflux happens when food or liquid travels from the stomach back up into the esophagus, the swallowing tube that leads from the mouth to the stomach. The partially digested material is usually acidic and can irritate the esophagus, causing heartburn and other symptoms.
When GERD is untreated, stomach acid can permanently damage the esophagus. Doctors believe this causes the esophagus to develop pre-malignant abnormal cells — the condition known as Barrett's esophagus. When there are symptoms, they include severe nighttime heartburn pain, vomiting, blood in vomit or stool, and difficulty swallowing.
There is no known cure for Barrett's. Those with Barrett's have about a five to 10 percent lifetime risk of developing a cancer of the esophagus, adenocarcinoma, which is increasing more rapidly than any other cancer in the United States. A 1999 study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that patients with chronic, untreated heartburn had an eight times greater risk of developing the cancer. The prognosis is usually poor; the cancer is usually diagnosed at an advanced stage, with a five-year survival rate of only about 10 percent.
Still, many wait for years before seeking professional treatment for reflux. Why? "Some theories are that patients are taking these over-the-counter medications and are treating themselves," says Dr. Stephen Yang, chief thoracic surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medical Institution. "With the antacids, you do suppress the acid production and mask the bile reflux, which can contribute to Barrett's."
Even patients being treated for GERD, however, can develop Barrett's. Again, doctors aren't sure why. "Perhaps some patients aren't very compliant with their medication," Yang said. "Some patients just have really bad reflux. It's so severe that nothing helps."
Barrett's is more likely to affect white males over the age of 50. The reasons are not entirely clear. "One thing we know is that obesity or overweight is very important in this cancer, and also in development of Barrett's," says Dr. Thomas Vaughan, head of epidemiology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle. "The big majority of people with Barrett's are overweight." Vaughan's research has shown that excess weight around the stomach, as men often do, is also a factor.
Asthma, Vaughan says, has been linked to Barrett's and more than 90 percent of the patients he has studied also have hiatal hernias, a condition in which a portion of the stomach protrudes upward into the chest. Smokers are also about twice as likely to develop it.
Vaughan says the best defense against Barrett's is prevention by weight loss and proper diet.
Controlling reflux may help, though there is no proof that it stops Barrett's. General measures include eating at least three hours before sleeping and sleeping with the head elevated. Avoiding dietary fat, chocolate, caffeine, mint products, carbonated beverages, peppery spices, alcohol and tobacco may also help some people.
"Barrett's patients are characterized by an earlier age of onset of symptoms, and a longer duration of reflux," says Dr. Richard E. Sampliner, professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
"If you have regular heartburn, which some people have twice a week, you ought to be on therapy to prevent it, and you ought to stay on that therapy."
There are two basic kinds of medications used for treating reflux. Proton pump inhibitors, or PPI's, help block the stomach from producing acid, and can dramatically decrease reflux symptoms.
The other kind of medication, prokinetic agents, improve stomach emptying and help the valve between the stomach and esophagus close more tightly. These types of drugs, however, may have side effects and are not prescribed as often as PPI's. When all other measures fail or when there are complications, surgery may help to tighten or reinforce the muscle at the end of the esophagus, though it may not prevent cancer.
Patients with chronic reflux should also get an esophageal endoscopy, a procedure in which a flexible tube with a fiber optic camera is inserted into the esophagus to check for abnormalities and to collect tissue samples for further analysis.
It was this procedure that revealed Ted Strucinski's illness. "Anybody who thinks they have the symptoms really needs to be checked out," he says.
Even patients being treated for GERD, however, can develop Barrett's. Again, doctors aren't sure why. "Perhaps some patients aren't very compliant with their medication," Yang said. "Some patients just have really bad reflux. It's so severe that nothing helps."
Barrett's is more likely to affect white males over the age of 50. The reasons are not entirely clear. "One thing we know is that obesity or overweight is very important in this cancer, and also in development of Barrett's," says Dr. Thomas Vaughan, head of epidemiology at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle. "The big majority of people with Barrett's are overweight." Vaughan's research has shown that excess weight around the stomach, as men often do, is also a factor.
Asthma, Vaughan says, has been linked to Barrett's and more than 90 percent of the patients he has studied also have hiatal hernias, a condition in which a portion of the stomach protrudes upward into the chest. Smokers are also about twice as likely to develop it.
Vaughan says the best defense against Barrett's is prevention by weight loss and proper diet.
Controlling reflux may help, though there is no proof that it stops Barrett's. General measures include eating at least three hours before sleeping and sleeping with the head elevated. Avoiding dietary fat, chocolate, caffeine, mint products, carbonated beverages, peppery spices, alcohol and tobacco may also help some people.
"Barrett's patients are characterized by an earlier age of onset of symptoms, and a longer duration of reflux," says Dr. Richard E. Sampliner, professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
"If you have regular heartburn, which some people have twice a week, you ought to be on therapy to prevent it, and you ought to stay on that therapy."
There are two basic kinds of medications used for treating reflux. Proton pump inhibitors, or PPI's, help block the stomach from producing acid, and can dramatically decrease reflux symptoms.
The other kind of medication, prokinetic agents, improve stomach emptying and help the valve between the stomach and esophagus close more tightly. These types of drugs, however, may have side effects and are not prescribed as often as PPI's. When all other measures fail or when there are complications, surgery may help to tighten or reinforce the muscle at the end of the esophagus, though it may not prevent cancer.
Patients with chronic reflux should also get an esophageal endoscopy, a procedure in which a flexible tube with a fiber optic camera is inserted into the esophagus to check for abnormalities and to collect tissue samples for further analysis.
It was this procedure that revealed Ted Strucinski's illness. "Anybody who thinks they have the symptoms really needs to be checked out," he says.
Heartburn, Acid indegestion, acid reflux GERD...
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Alkalete™ consists entirely of ingredients designated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) as GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe).
Alkalete™ received FDA recognition as a New Dietary Ingredient (NDI), a designation of product safety and uniformity. A proprietary manufacturing process uses the patented Exact Blending and Compounding (“EBC”) equipment to produce the Alkalete™ granule.
The Alkalete granules have three properties:1. Achieves a systemic alkaline balance in the body to improve healthy aging and athletic performance.
2. Reduces the acidity of foods and beverages without damaging flavor.
3. Increases absorbency of key nutrients.
Feel free to visit our website www.Lifes-a-Blast.GoYoli.com or contact us by e-mail for further information on Alkalete. Lifes-a-Blast.@Q.com
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