Esophageal cancer is a common disease with an extremely high incidence in China. According to statistics, there were 307,000 newly diagnosed esophageal cancer patients in 2018, and 283,000 people died from esophageal cancer.
It can be seen that esophageal cancer seriously affects people's health and life, and if the disease can be detected at an early stage and treated by surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, the cure rate is as high as 90%, and even a complete cure can be achieved. So, what is the success rate of surgery when esophageal cancer progresses to the middle stage?
Generally speaking, if the patient is found in esophageal cancer, the five-year survival rate can be maintained at about 40% after actively cooperating with the doctor's treatment and strengthening care.
Therefore, the success rate of surgery for patients with medium-stage esophageal cancer should be determined according to factors such as constitution, condition, and tolerance. If the patient's condition has progressed to an advanced stage, there is no need for the patient to undergo surgery, and the patient needs to maintain a good attitude towards the condition and try to help himself survive as long as possible.
What are the symptoms of esophageal cancer?
I. Early symptoms
The most obvious feeling in the early stage of patients with esophageal cancer is a foreign body sensation in the throat, because the cancer cells multiply in the esophagus and constantly invade the esophageal mucosa.
In the early stage, when the patient eats, there will be no obvious obstruction, but as the disease progresses, because the cancer cells block the esophagus, it will cause the patient to have a significant choking sensation when swallowing food, especially when swallowing steamed buns, rice or too large pieces of food, this symptom is more obvious.
2. Intermediate and late stage symptoms
As the disease worsens, there will be obvious burning and friction sensation in the lesion where the patient swallows food, and if the food eaten is too dry and hard, the esophageal mucosa will rupture and bleed, and the patient will also pass black stools.
Patients may also experience pain and burning sensation in the retrosternal area when they are not eating, and hoarseness when the recurrent laryngeal nerve is affected.
If the cancer cells metastasize to the lymph nodes, the patient will choke when drinking water, and the cancer cells will metastasize to the bronchi, causing esophagobronchial fistula, and the patient will have a high fever and severe pneumonia.
If the patient's condition has progressed to the terminal stage, the entire esophagus is blocked, and even eating porridge and noodles will become a problem, and even drinking water will feel uncomfortable.
Therefore, once there is difficulty swallowing, throat discomfort, black stool and other conditions, it is necessary to go to the hospital in time, and understand the specific situation through gastroscopy or upper gastrointestinal barium swallow examination, the earlier the disease is detected, the higher the cure rate.
If the disease has progressed to an advanced stage, patients should not be discouraged, and try to adjust their diet and use traditional Chinese medicine to recuperate, and there is also a chance to help themselves control the disease and maximize the survival time.
All in all, the occurrence of esophageal cancer is inseparable from people's diet, so if you want to prevent esophageal cancer, you must naturally start with diet. For example, don't smoke or drink alcohol, eat less fried, barbecued, and pickled foods, and eat more light foods and fruits to keep the body's nutrition sufficient.
It is also important to pay attention to the temperature of about 35 to 45 °C when eating, and do not eat hot food and drink hot water, so as to reduce the irritation of the esophagus and help the esophagus to maintain health.