PHARMACISTS MAY, AT TIMES, BE BEST PLACED TO SPOT RECURRENT SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS
between these two cancers and the associated gastro-oesophageal junction (GOJ) cancer. Lorraine Pinkerton was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer at 59.
‘I have a long history of oesophageal reflux and I had a hiatus hernia, which can cause that. I was on medication and occasionally I would have had scopes done. The scopes weren’t done on a regular basis, but the year before I was diagnosed in October 2013, I had gone to my GP with really bad symptoms of reflux. It had flared up and didn’t seem to be settling. Because I hadn’t had a scope for years, my GP he sent me for one and it was totally normal.
‘Over the next year I gradually had more and more symptoms, I just thought everything was alright. I adjusted my diet to really bland food and I cut the wine because it was irritating it. Then, about August time, I started having really bad indigestion and the indigestion pain was going into my back. It was progressing, not getting any better, and I was just trying to treat it myself with a bland diet.
‘In the September I started to feel really sore when I was swallowing. The food wasn’t sticking, but it was sore going down. The following week I went to another GP and they more or less said the same thing. The two things that they were honing in on was that the food wasn’t sticking and I’d had a normal scope the year before. Three times I went to them and three times that was their response. Eventually, on the fourth occasion, the GP referred me for a scope.
‘By the time I went to the scope, my food was sticking in my oesophagus and I was diagnosed in October with quite a big tumour in that location. For a while we didn’t know if it was going to be curable or not; there were also queries about node involvement, so that was tough. Then the word curative was used and that just changed everything. So I had an oesophagectomy in February 2014 and two lots of chemotherapy beforehand. The chemotherapy enabled me to swallow again and then I had my surgery in the February. I’ve now been in remission for seven years.’
‘When it comes to OG cancer,’ says Helen Setterfield, ‘I think one of the key words is
‘persistence’. It’s about getting symptoms taken seriously. We advise everyone that, if their symptoms are persistent, then the patient should be persistent. It can be the difference between life and death. Pharmacists may, at times, be best placed to spot recurrent symptoms in patients.’
The symptoms of both types of cancer are similar.
Symptoms of oesophageal cancer •Swallowing difficulties, or a sensation of food sticking in the chest
•Pain or discomfort as food passes down the oesophagus
•Persistent heartburn/acid reflux (persistent would be two to three weeks without passing off)
•Persistent cough or hoarseness •Persistent hiccups •Regurgitation of food on a regular basis •Persistent nausea/retching/heaving • Unexpected weight loss/unusual tiredness
Symptoms of gastric cancer •Persistent indigestion and heartburn •Trapped wind and frequent burping • Feeling very full or bloated after meals •Persistent stomach pain
Helen Setterfield (centre, Chair, OG Cancer NI) with (l-r): Louise Collins (OG Clinical Nurse Specialist, Belfast Trust); Maureen Toner (OG Clinical Nurse Specialist, Belfast Trust); Karen Graham (OG Clinical Nurse Specialist, Belfast Trust) and Ray Kennedy (surgeon, Belfast Trust) at the launch of the OG Cancer 2021 Catch It Early campaign.
EARLY DIAGNOSIS LEADS TO A MUCH BETTER CHANCE OF SURVIVAL FROM THIS CANCER - WHICH HAS A 20 PER CENT SURVIVAL RATE OF FIVE OR MORE YEARS
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