Geoff’s Story – Barrett’s Oesophagus and Diverticulosis
Barrett’s oesophagus is the term used for a potentially pre-cancerous condition where the normal cells lining the oesophagus (also known as the gullet or food pipe) have been replaced with abnormal cells.
Tell us a little bit about you
“I’m Geoff, I live on the South Coast and have done for over 30 years with my wife Tracy. We’ve been happily married for nearly 40 years and have two grown-up children, Kelly our daughter who is 36, and Jordan our son who is 31 this year.
I work in insurance as part of a digital team with a company I’ve worked with for 10 years, which I really enjoy. In my spare time, I study mindfulness and wellbeing, enjoy the garden, photography, and walking on the coast with our cockapoo Alfie.”
When did your symptoms begin?
“Around five years ago, I had ongoing stomach pains that came and went sporadically. Eventually, my doctor sent me for a colonoscopy (camera to look at my bowel) which gave me a diagnosis of diverticulosis (pockets in my bowel).
I left the colonoscopy with no support, and was told to ‘watch my diet’. I’d always been relatively healthy and really into fitness. I went online and the internet told me to restrict certain foods, then bring them back into my diet to see if I had a reaction.
My doctor asked if I had any other symptoms, where I explained my persistent cough. I was sent for an urgent endoscopy (camera down the throat). The consultant told me my oesophagus was damaged and in a poor state. He told me to refrain from drinking alcohol, and he would do another endoscopy in three months.
In those three months, I stopped drinking and I started eating less foods that would give me heartburn. Three months later, the consultant could see the difference. Six years on, I still don’t drink alcohol.”
Talk us through your most recent diagnosis
“Around a year ago, I was diagnosed at another endoscopy with Barrett’s oesophagus. I am now booked in for endoscopies every few years to monitor the Barrett’s and check for cell changes that might indicate oesophageal cancer. I was told to watch my diet but given little to no direction or support.“
How are you now?
“I continue to get flare ups where my diverticula pouches become infected and I become more unwell, spending days in bed sometimes.
At one point, I was introduced to a dietitian on the NHS who has been brilliant, and Guts UK make it bearable too. I continue to work full time, with frequent breaks due to flare-ups and exhaustion.
I have had a long journey with health. When I was 12 years old, I lost the sight in my left eye due to a blood clot on the brain. I was attacked at work as a Restaurant Manager, ending up with a broken cheekbone, fractured eye socket and broken jaw. I’ve been involved in two accidents, one causing severe head injuries and brain damage, and the other leaving me with leg trauma, PTSD and I had to learn to walk again.
There is a camaraderie amongst fellow sufferers on social media, which keeps me going. I’m a mindfulness and wellbeing instructor, and mental health first aider, so it helps me through, and helps me help others too.
I’ve recently had a skin cancer diagnosis, but I’ve signed up for the Royal Parks Half Marathon for Guts UK Charity.
It gives me so much encouragement and motivation to get through the next few months, and smash by goals by October!”
Several research areas are needed to improve the treatment of Barrett’s oesophagus. Early diagnosis is a key strategy in cancer research, and work using non-endoscopic methods to find Barrett’s includes saliva biomarkers, breath testing, and the newly introduced Cytosponge©. Blood markers for identification of Barrett’s oesophagus are also being considered, but much more research and trials are needed before these can be used.
