My 83 yr old sister had an endoscopy today and they found something on her esophagus, either a lesion or a growth. The dr. later told the family to expect the worst. He said they may do a second biopsy, why do they need to do this? How long can we expect her to live and will she be in pain in the end? Will we have to put her in a nursing home? She was vomiting blood last nite.
Hi, what ever u have written indicates towards a cancerous growth in esophagus, but final diagnosis is given by biopsy. The extent of disease/ stage of disease is to be analyzed with the help of a good quality CT scan or other imaging. After stage of disease, to some extent we can predict the average survival. Sometimes if first biopsy is inconclusive, we may do second biopsy. Her admission into a nursing home is not necessary just because of the fear of malignancy. Follow the advice of your doctor and give your sister care and love as much as u can.