Early symptoms of esophageal cancer

The early symptoms of esophageal cancer include pain behind the sternum, foreign body sensation when swallowing food, chest tightness, difficulty swallowing, and swallowing stagnation or frustration. The specific analysis is as follows:

1. Pain behind the sternum: Patients with esophageal cancer may experience pain behind the sternum in the early stages. The pain varies from person to person. Some people feel like a needle-like pain, while others feel like a burning pain. The pain may worsen after swallowing food or changing body position.

2. Foreign body sensation when swallowing food: During swallowing, food passing through the lesion area may produce a foreign body sensation. This foreign body sensation is usually fixed in one location, and some patients describe it as a feeling of never being able to swallow everything. It is worth noting that this foreign body sensation may occur intermittently and is easily ignored by patients.

3. Chest tightness: Chest tightness is also one of the common early symptoms of esophageal cancer. Patients may feel a tightness or pressure in the chest, often accompanied by a dry throat.

4. Dysphagia: In the early stages of esophageal cancer, the throat may swell, erode, or become congested, making it difficult to swallow food. This dysphagia may gradually worsen as the disease progresses.

5. Swallowing stagnation or frustration: When swallowing food, you may feel a stagnation or frustration in a certain part. This situation is not continuous, but will gradually become obvious as the disease progresses.

The success rate of treatment for early esophageal cancer is high, so timely detection and treatment are of great significance to improving the patient's quality of life and survival rate. At the same time, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, such as eating a reasonable diet, avoiding irritating foods, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol, can also help reduce the risk of esophageal cancer.