The esophagus is the tube food travels down after you finish chewing and swallowing it. Esophageal cancer involves a tumor growing somewhere in that tube, which increasingly blocks food from traveling down easily.

Whether caused by years of smoking, acid reflux or some other cause, Nebraska Medicine offers the latest in techniques and world-renowned thoracic surgeons to treat and often heal you of esophageal cancer.

Really intense acid reflux causing heart burn can be an early sign of esophageal cancer. Often however, many people don't realize anything is wrong until they begin struggling to swallow food as the tumor keeps growing, crowding out space for food to normally go through the esophagus.

How We Treat Esophageal Cancer

At Nebraska Medicine we have a large team of experts who use the latest minimally invasive techniques in treating esophageal, and other kinds of chest (thoracic) cancers. Your case will be reviewed by a doctor who specializes in the digestive system — called a gastroenterologist — for initial diagnosis and figuring out how big the cancerous tumors are and if they have spread. If surgery is a possibility, you'll meet a thoracic surgeon, along with other cancer specialists.

The team will collectively guide you as to the right treatment mix of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy for your situation.

If Caught Early, We Can Nearly Always Cure It

With chest-related cancers, if they're caught early enough our treatments are highly successful. That's often when the cancer is just developing, and the worst symptoms are just heartburn or acid reflux. Unfortunately however, often people don't really know they have cancer due to it not affecting their ability to swallow until it's in a later stage, which speaks to the value of screenings.

We're a High-volume Center

Because Nebraska Medicine is an academic medical center thanks to its partnership with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, we see and therefore know how to treat the rarest types of esophageal cancer cases

Specialized Surgeon

Rudy Lackner, MD is our thoracic surgeon focusing exclusively on treating the esophagus and lungs. If you have a chest cancer, wouldn't you want the person operating on you to specialize in that exact area of the body?

We Use the Latest Minimally Invasive Surgical Methods

While surgery is always a taxing experience, we can now remove tumors using an approach that will leave you with only a small hole in your chest, which greatly improves recovery time.

Targeted, Rare Therapies

We're on the forefront of using your own genetics to provide therapies targeted to you personally. In addition, we also provide unique options like photodynamic therapies (PDT) for fighting cancer as well. With this method, a photosensitizer and a particular type of light are used to kill cancer.

The Best Cancer Care in the World, Close to Home

Cancer often involves multiple trips to the doctor or clinics to have treatments such as chemotherapy. Patients come form all over the globe to receive care here from our world-renowned oncologists. If there are complications, being near the specialists also saves you the hassle of trying to make sure your care is coordinated with a local hospital in your area.

Brand New Cancer Center

While we have four locations where we treat cancer patients, in the event you have appointments at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, you'll receive treatment in a state-of-the-art building that opened in June of 2017, with all the latest equipment available. Patients also have access to our healing arts facilities.

Infusion

All patients undergoing cancer treatment with Nebraska Medicine have access to our Infusion Center at the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, which serves as a treatment center and urgent-care-type facility for those battling cancer.

Addressing Your Personal Care Needs

Addressing a patient’s physical, educational, emotional and spiritual needs are important aspects of providing a more complete and holistic approach to care. A host of amenities and supportive services are available to help meet these needs. This includes personal care services such as wigs, wig fittings, prosthetic and bra fittings, yoga, massage therapy, skin care and make-up lessons specifically geared for people with or recovering from cancer are also provided in a private setting.

Cancer Support Services

Finding out that you have cancer can be a very emotional and difficult time. You will likely have many questions and issues to work through. We will be with you every step of the way. Nebraska Medicine offers a host of cancer support services to help you with your physical, emotional, educational and financial needs.

We're Here for you Long After Your Treatment

Our Survivorship Clinic is designed to help you deal with the emotional and physical challenges cancer can leave behind such as fear of recurrence, physical and medical long-term side effects and helping you return to a normal life again. It will also help you transition back into the care of your primary care physician.