Problem with heartburn?????

My mom who has head & neck & lung cancer had a very bad experience this morning.  She was out of her nexium for a few days.  She woke up this morning with severe heartburn.  She said she was hurting in her chest and her throat felt as if it was closing.

Has anyone else experienced this?  Was it the cancer or was it just the heartburn?

Hi -

First, any symptom such as severe burning as you described should be reported and discussed with the doctor. Depending on the circumstances - how long she's been out of treatment, type of treatment, medical history, etc - they might want to do an endoscope to see if there's any specific damage to the espophagus. So don't hesitate to get your doctors involved - don't self diagnose.

That being said - I was about 1-1/2 years out of treatment when I started to experience very similar heartburn. It wasn't constant so I just tried some OTC meds when it bothered me. But then the pain started getting more severe and ocurred more often. So I called the gastroenterologist who had placed/removed my PEG tube prior to treamtent.

He did 'scope me, said there was no damage, prescribed Nexium. About a week later, he called to say he had gottent the results of the biopsy and it turned out I had developed Barrett's Esophagus. It's a condition where the typical cell lining of the esophagus is replaced by cells more similar to what lines the stomach. Some think it's a defensive mechanism on the part of the body from exposure to stomach acid backing up into the esophagus.

He did mention to me that for some reason, they have found that this type of condition seems related to head and neck cancer patients. They don't know exactly why. So Nexium will become a daily part of my meds and I'll be scoped once a year to keep an eye on things.

So it may not be cancer - but may be a result of treatment or other process. Best to check it out and try not to run out of the Nexium.

Hope she feels better!

- Jeff

Thank you for your reply Jeff.  My mother is currently on Taxotere.  Her cancer is back for the 3rd time in her mouth.  She was out of her Nexium pills and in her gap coverage with insurance, so she did not want to pay full price for her medicine.  After this happen she told me it didn't matter how much it cost, get the medicine.  She told me today that she really felt like she was dying.  The last CT scan revealed a narrowing in her esophagus.  I wonder if this could be tied with something else going on.

She is better today. 

Donna

Hi Donna:

Your mother needn't suffer if she's worried about the cost of medications. Many of the pharmaceutical manufacturers have programs for those who either don't have insurance or can't afford the current price for their meds. AstraZenica, who manufactures Nexium, has such a discounting program including for those on Medicare.

You can read the details here:

http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/help-affording-your-medicines/

If link doesn't work, try this:

http://tinyurl.com/yfdzwlw

I'm assuming you're in the US. If not, you can probably find same info on the international site.

As far as what's going on with her esophagus, only the doc can really diagnose and recommend treatment. The narrowing seen could be treatment/medication related, or related independently to acid reflux. Either way,  - she should be helped with her pain.

If she doesn't feel as if she's being treated correctly, I would talk to the people at the facility where she receives treatment. Usually there's a patient advocate to help. If she's concerned about the cost of treatment, there are also social workers who can possibly guide you to resources that can help.

The help is out there - unfortunately, you have to dig for it. You may even find some help on this site if you look around.

You can also try the Patient Advocate Foundation ( http://www.patientadvocate.org ) Lots of resources there and a state by state guide. Or even the American Cancer Society.

I do hope you Mom gets some relief - and also that her cancer can be controlled or eradicated. My best wishes to both of you - it's a fight we're all in.

- Jeff

That sounds terrible.  Thanks for sharing.  I have rarely been affected by heartburn until after the tonsil cancer treatment regimen.  I definitely get it now fairly often.   Add it to the list of post treatment problems.