

You might feel it in the middle of your chest, behind the breastbone, even though it doesnt involve the heart. You can get darker poo if you're taking iron tablets. Natalia Gdovskaia / Getty Images Symptoms of Heartburn: What Does Heartburn Feel Like Heartburn is a painful, burning sensation. Your poo may be darker – almost black – if cancer is making your oesophagus bleed. You may cough up blood or have blood in your vomit (or food that you bring back up) if your oesophagus is bleeding. It's not a common symptom and can be caused by other harmless conditions. You may start to bring up soft foods such as mashed potato, drinks and saliva if you don't have treatment.Ī cough that won't go away or that happens when you try to eat can be caused by oesophageal cancer. It usually starts with food like meat and bread. A burning pain in the chest, which usually occurs after eating and sometimes at night, is the most obvious symptom of heartburn. You may regurgitate food – this is when food comes back up soon after you swallow it. This can get worse when you swallow or have indigestion. You may feel pain in the centre of your chest, or more rarely in your back or between your shoulder blades. Pain in your throat or behind your breastbone You want to call 911 if you are having sudden, crushing chest pain or if your chest pain radiates into the jaw or the. Rarely, extreme weight loss can be a sign of an advanced cancer. You may be put off eating if you find it hard to swallow or have pain when you swallow your food. Heartburn is burning chest pain or discomfort that happens after eating. See your doctor if you’ve had heartburn most days for 3 weeks or more, even if you’re taking medicine and it seems to help. It can be very painful, even when there's nothing seriously wrong.

Remember that indigestion is common and it's not usually caused by cancer. A tumour that develops here can stop the valve working, causing indigestion. The valve is called the cardiac sphincter. The valve between the stomach and oesophagus normally stops this from happening. Or when the stomach is inflamed or irritated. You can get indigestion when acid from your stomach goes back up (refluxes) into the oesophagus. Indigestion or heartburn that don't go away

It is important to get this symptom checked by your doctor. This is the most common symptom of oesophageal cancer.Ī harmless narrowing of the oesophagus called a stricture can also make it difficult for you to swallow. You may feel pain or a burning sensation when you swallow, or your food may stick in your throat or chest. Your symptoms are unlikely to be cancer but it is important to get them checked by a doctor. You should see your doctor if you have difficulty swallowing, or you have symptoms that are unusual for you or that won't go away.
