Predisposition to Barrett's and adenocarcinoma

I have recently (4 months ago) been diagnosed with Barrett's without dysplasia and hiatal hernia.  I was initially put on Nexium and Hyoscyamine.  After taking the Nexium for 1 week, my tongue started to swell and become very sore,  The Doc then took me off and put me on Protonix 40 mg.  It seem to be working fine but still had the reflux problem and my doctor said that because I have a hiatal hernia, I will always have the reflux.  I asked if there was anything he could do about correcting my hiatal hernia and he said I was not a good candidate for the surgery due to the erythematous and edematous state of my esophagus. Two weeks ago, I developed severe pain in my abdomin (abdomen) and was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer.  I am scheduled for an abdominal ultrasound tomorrow and another EGD in 2 weeks.  I asked my doctor if the fact that my Mother died of cancer of the esophagus and stomach (originating in esophagus) if that meant that I was predisposed to my Barrett's eventually turning into cancer.  He said that many people live with Barrett's forever without it ever turning into cancer.  Somehow I felt maybe he just didn't want to address this issue with me or that maybe I am just being paranoid.  I have tried to do research about the familial predisposition of Barrett's to cancer but have not had much luck. I have been able to discover that colon cancer as well as breast cancer are or can be hereditary.  Does anyone have any info on this?  I would truly appreciate any information anyone can provide.  Best wishes to everyone.  Mary

[jaspur]

I was diagnosed with a Hiatial Hernia and Baretts in 1995. I had had the reflux all of my life and was missdiagnosed all of that time. I had a nissan wrap done in 1995 and have not had reflux (into my esophagus since) I have endoscopys done every 18 months to check the Barretts so far everything is fine. I still have to take acid reducers when things act up. I do believe that their was a history of cancer in either the stomach or esophagus in my family tree...not sure. Their is a lot of information about barretts within this med site and in reading this and talking to my G.I. Dr after all of this time I do beleive that if you take care of your self and get checked the risk of barretts getting worse is not likely..good luck

[jaspur]

also a good web that I got from this site....http://www.gastro.net.au/diseases/barretts.html  and http://www.fhcrc.org/science/phs/barretts/plain.htm

[MaryCatherine]

Thank you for the info...much appreciated!  Mary

[cnanago]

I have a long history of GERD, including a hiatal hernia and Barrett's esophagus. In the fall of 1996 I became very hoarse and felt like I had a splinter in my throat. An ear,nose & throat specialist who diagnosed & removed a polyp on my vocal cords.In February 1997 another one developed. I went to my family doctor first and asked him what could be causing these to develop, and asked him if he thought it could be acid reflux. He sent me in for tests which included an EGD, which showed that I had serious Barrett's esophagus. The GE specialist who did the EGD recommended that I have the Nissen fundoplication, sent me to the surgeon, etc. I had the surgery in May of 1997, took my bed off the concrete blocks which we had used to raise the head, threw out two of the three pillows I had had to sleep on, and finally got a good night's sleep! I use Prilosec 2x-3x weekly just as a good precaution. I only have to have the EGDs every two years now. The one I had done a couple of weeks ago showed improvement in the Barrett's, with better biopsies than the previous ones. Come to find out, I had had acid reflux since I was about 12 yrs old, but it was never diagnosed. There is always hope! Drawback--cut down on coffee(all caffeine)

[MaryCatherine]

Thank you for your reply.  I have asked my doc about the Nissen fundiplocation but he said I was not a good candidate.  I have another EGD scheduled in a couple of weeks and will ask more specific questions at this time.  Was your Barrett's with dysplasia?  My Mother died of cancer of the esophagus so we are watching mine very carefully.