|
News
: As a pharmacist for 22 years, Frances
Scoggins has dispensed thousands of medications to treat
acid reflux.
But she never gave much thought to her own occasional
bout with the condition until last year, when she
learned she had Barrett's esophagus, a condition linked
to a rare cancer. A year after Scoggins' diagnosis was
made, tests showed she was at a high risk for developing
cancer.
In July, she did the only thing she could do: She had
her esophagus removed.
"Surgery was my only option," said Scoggins,
who lives in Arlington. "That or do nothing knowing
I probably would not be here next year."
About 700,000 people in the United States have
Barrett's, a condition that causes changes in the cells
of the esophagus that can lead to cancer.
It may be associated with gastroesophageal reflux
disease, or GERD, which affects about 20 percent of
adults.
Adenocarcinoma, the type of cancer that Scoggins had,
occurs in the bottom of the esophagus, where it meets
the stomach, said Dr. Rohan Jeyarajah, director of
surgical oncology at Methodist Health System in Dallas.
Patients diagnosed with Barrett's should have a
surveillance endoscopy, usually every year, Jeyarajah
said.
Biopsies revealed cancer within the walls of Scoggins'
esophagus. One doctor told her it was the earliest he
had seen esophageal cancer caught in 20 years.
"Barrett's is a secretive disease, and it isn't
seen often," she said. "By the time doctors
find something, it's not Barrett's; it's esophageal
cancer."
Scoggins wants to get that message out to the public so
others can catch this often-fatal cancer at the earliest
stage.
In her case, an endoscopic ultrasound allowed doctors to
get a better look at the lining of the esophagus, which
prompted her to undergo surgery.
Adenocarcinoma accounts for about half of all esophageal
cancers, the eighth most common type of cancer in the
United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
It differs from squamous-cell cancer of the esophagus,
which is associated with tobacco and alcohol use.
Surgery to remove the esophagus is complicated.
In Scoggins' case, Jeyarajah removed all but about five
inches of her approximately 13-inch long esophagus.
The eight-hour procedure was performed through a tiny
incision in the upper chest.
"We moved her stomach to where the esophagus
was," said. "We did it laproscopically."
For five days after the procedure, Scoggins could have
nothing to eat or drink. But since part of her esophagus
was preserved, she was soon able to swallow and eat
normally, though it feels different than before.
For now she is sticking to small meals of mostly soft
foods.Scoggins also has had to make a few lifestyle
adjustments to cope with her new anatomy.
She sometimes has trouble catching her breath. She also
had to elevate her bed at a 30-degree angle to aid in
digestion. A blood clot sent her back to the hospital
for treatment.
But considering what she has been through, her recovery
has gone well, and she expects to return to work at a
Tom Thumb pharmacy in Bedford within about a month.
Scoggins, who is married and has two adult children, is
optimistic.
"I have an absolute chance of a cure," she
said.
|
