PLEASE rethink surgery! it's cancer causing, do the research :(

[harringm13 2]

n support to my decision to have mine removed, I had no damage prior to my surgery and since then I’m a stage away from Barrettes esophagus.

I just don’t want to be that girl to develop esophageal cancer as a result of being naive pretending the band did not bring me there.

I know the band was causing the damage despite originally being told that was not the case, as the doctor states in the slide and his video it’s practically common sense when you think about it.

I just hope it isn’t too late for me and I hope other people are made aware of this information so they too can rethink the risks.

As it is, everyone who had the surgery is at high risk for developing esophageal cancer.. I believe that is what further studies will show… we are the guinea pigs and further research will reveal the truth but at such a high price.

http://www.slideshar...ophageal-cancer

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=4sBRDaH2gJA

http://www.bariatric...phageal-cancer/

I have an appointment to meet with GI specialist again once my band is removed, hopefully there hasn’t been much progression since my last visit with him.

More patients should know this and be made aware of this prior to having the surgery done. As I said, I would guess eventually these surgeries will no longer be an option.

[harringm13 2]

n support to my decision to have mine removed, I had no damage prior to my surgery and since then I’m a stage away from Barrettes esophagus.

I just don’t want to be that girl to develop esophageal cancer as a result of being naive pretending the band did not bring me there.

I know the band was causing the damage despite originally being told that was not the case, as the doctor states in the slide and his video it’s practically common sense when you think about it.

I just hope it isn’t too late for me and I hope other people are made aware of this information so they too can rethink the risks.

As it is, everyone who had the surgery is at high risk for developing esophageal cancer.. I believe that is what further studies will show… we are the guinea pigs and further research will reveal the truth but at such a high price.

http://www.slideshar...ophageal-cancer

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=4sBRDaH2gJA

http://www.bariatric...phageal-cancer/

I have an appointment to meet with GI specialist again once my band is removed, hopefully there hasn’t been much progression since my last visit with him.

More patients should know this and be made aware of this prior to having the surgery done. As I said, I would guess eventually these surgeries will no longer be an option.

[SlowlybutSurely 73]

And morbid obesity is a killer as well.....high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, etc! Did you know that doctor prescribed medicines have SIDE EFFECTS as well? Many of those side effects are MUCH worse than what we originally take the meds to treat and yet, we still and always will take those meds. Nothing is a given in this life and everything is a roll of the dice. You Pray about it and move on.

[harringm13 2]

All i'm saying is studies are now revealing that the surgies for BAND & SLEEVE are proven to have caused an increase in esophageal cancer. Have the surgery if you want, it's most certainly your choice.

I just think not everone is considering this and i wanted to do what I could just to share it with folks...

yes there are risks for everything, but sometimes afterwards the risks are so great they stop prescribing or performing the procedures that caused them...

I'm just sharing the info I found and my experience, do what you will. I am only trying to be helpful.

[sassypants 674]

I have had really bad acid reflux since my gall bladder attacks back in ummm 02 its never stopped since its actually less now after the op than it was before.
I dealt with my gall bladder attacks with a lot of acid and major puking several times a day for over 5 years.
First 2 of them trying to work out what it was and not believing me because they just put it down to being fat and me over reacting like some kind of hypercondract the rest no one willing to operate on me till my wls doctor said my size was not a issue and he did it (well before my wls)
I think if I was going to get this due to reflux and puking I would of got it by now that’s over 10 years of beating the crap out of it with acid and puke.

[Vixynne 695]

If we let ourselves become paralyzed by "WHAT IF __________ HAPPENS", we'll become unable to function. This link you provided says 20-30% of sleeve patients develop new onset GERD? I suppose maybe if you leave GERD untreated over a long period, yes, it might develop into cancer (but I'm not a doctor, so I'm not sure of that)...but who would suffer GERD without seeking treatment, long enough to allow it to become pre-cancerous, much less full-blown cancer? Seems a bit off to me.

It also says in the slideshow that the target group is patients who are revisions from sleeve to Roux-En-Y; I'm guessing that is a VERY small subsection of all sleeve patients. So, instead of "everyone who gets bariatric surgery is at an elevated risk of this horrible/possibly lethal form of cancer", what it actually seems to be saying is that a very small group out of another very small group might develop health issues related to GERD.

Slide 4 says they examined 106 cases. That's a TINY sampling, and done all in one country (Germany). My surgeon performs more than 100 surgeries in six months all by himself! Maybe they sampled one surgeon who has a dismal success rate? Maybe the hospital/s providing this data isn't up to the standards of a Bariatric Center of Excellence?

Research is only as accurate and as trustworthy as the individuals/group performing it, and it can be spun, twisted, and re-shaped to show almost anything. Go to this link and you'll find "research" showing that Churchill was a carrot.
The way I see it, if you go back 500 years, the BEST minds, the most highly-respected opinions on earth, all said "If you sail too far to the west, you'll fall off the edge of the earth!" That's what their research showed.

Studies have also shown that if you live long enough, you will likely get some form of cancer (typically prostate cancer in men, and breast cancer in women). Since the life expectancy of human beings is highest (for 1st World Nations) nowadays, it makes some sense to be able to correlate that cancer rises as well--and that doesn't even account for cancer caused by genetics and other factors.

I am a sleeve believer--and I've seen this surgery improve the life I'm living, right NOW. If I hadn't had this procedure, I'd still be miserable, in pain, and unable to fully enjoy my life. For me, that equation comes out in my favor--and I realize that my experience isn't what every single sleeve patient has had. It's good to be as informed as you can be, before you make ANY life-changing decision. That being said, I'd gladly have my sleeve surgery done and redone to eliminate the pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, joint deterioration and heart issues that were coming over the horizon without that surgery. Not to be morbid, but I'll take a shorter, higher-quality life over a longer-duration, unhealthy, painfilled depressed "existence".

Edited March 13, 2014 by Vixynne

[harringm13 2]

i'm not posting anything else, wasn't trying to offend anyone, just spread awareness, I realize not everyone will have the same results and I wish you all best.

Sorry for stirring up the post, best of luck.

[SlowlybutSurely 73]

Harringm13, you seem to think that we were so naive that we didn't do our homework BEFORE we elected to have bariatric surgery. I had my surgery in Mexico so I had an extra level of research to conduct. Thanks for your warnings which seem to be based primarily on your own fear related to your personal experience as opposed to anything else, but I personally conducted years (not months) of research. I didn't want bypass and I wouldn't even consider sleeve until it was no longer considered experimental surgery so trust me when I say that I, along with most people, did their due diligence in making an informed decision.

[Ginger Snaps 1,323]

GERD can lead to esophageal cancer even if it's treated but not well-managed. The sleeve or band can both cause GERD or cause existing GERD to worsen. Those are facts. You have to determine for yourself if the risk (GERD worsening to the point of causing cancer) to the benefits of the weight loss surgery.

In my case, my not well-controlled GERD led me and my doctor to do bypass instead of the sleeve or band as both of those can cause GERD to worsen. It is definitely something that needs to be considered and discussed with your doctor before deciding what surgery will be best for you.

[mi75 1,241]

As a nurse, I don't believe that the medical community accepts youtube videos as a trustworthy source...if this research were a published medical journal article, it would be worth reading.

[mrsbailey921 117]

thanks for the information, but i do believe the benefits still outweigh the risks. GERD is cancer causing if left untreated (i mean i would expect that since GERD literally destroys the esophageal lining...but i would not expect those who take good care of themselves and any GERD if it arises to get cancer.

im very sorry that youre going through this OP, i pray your health improves.

[BarntruckCutie 21]

Thank you for your post. It is worth researching and another thing I will be looking into before my surgery! Don't worry about the negative comments, I for one welcome any new insight to my surgery and feel you are just trying to be informative! Thank you!