4 misunderstandings in the treatment of esophageal cancer

my country is a high-incidence area of ​​esophageal cancer. After regular treatment, the condition of patients with esophageal cancer who were diagnosed early has been well controlled, and some have even recovered their health. However, some patients had certain misunderstandings during the treatment and diagnosis process, which delayed treatment.

Myth 1: The more expensive the test, the more timely the diagnosis

Patients choose to undergo CT, MRI or even more expensive tests, believing that this is the only way to diagnose esophageal cancer early. In fact, the accuracy rate of esophageal exfoliated cytology in diagnosing esophageal cancer is over 90%, which is economical, simple, less painful and not dangerous. The accuracy rate of esophageal endoscopy is over 95%, which is far beyond the comparison of CT and MRI results. Esophageal barium swallow X-ray examination is also the most commonly used method for esophageal cancer screening.

Myth 2: Creating fear

Patients believe that some tests will cause discomfort, which leads to fear and unwillingness to accept these practical test methods. They are also misled by some propaganda and think that taking a drop of blood or a few strands of hair can tell whether they have cancer.

Myth 3: Not accepting comprehensive treatment

Although the prognosis of esophageal cancer is good when combined with traditional Chinese medicine, especially when combined with traditional Chinese medicine in the early stages of cancer treatment, it is important to seek normal medical treatment, rather than blindly seeking folk remedies and completely abandoning Western medicine.

Myth 4: No more treatment after surgery

After surgical resection of the cancerous area, symptoms such as dysphagia are temporarily relieved, which may lead to the mistaken belief that the patient has recovered and the postoperative radiotherapy, chemotherapy and adjuvant treatment being ignored, leading to the recurrence of esophageal cancer.