Hi matrixjs, 

It's completely understandable that you are worried but the important thing is that you now have a diagnosis of Barrett's Oesophagus and even though it has come as a shock, having this diagnosis means you will know what you are dealing with rather than having symptoms but not knowing what was causing them and as result, they will be monitoring you closely and giving you advice on how best to manage your condition. It's a shame though that they haven't given you any information on it at the appointment and I wanted to point you in the direction of the information we have on our website on Barrett's Oesophagus which explains really well what Barrett's oesophagus is, how it develops and we also have a useful section on treatment for Barrett's oesophagus and on monitoring your Barrett's. It's completely normal to worry but knowledge is power and finding out about the condition and its treatment will hopefully help you feel more under control. 

It might also help you to have a chat with our nurses and you can call them on freephone 0808 800 40 40 - lines are open from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. 

I've come across many other forum threads on the subject so you are not alone and if you type 'Barrett's' in the forum search bar which is located at the top, you will be able to see other posts from members who have had the same diagnosis in the past and feel free to respond to anyone you feel you would like to connect with. Just to give you an example, DonnaMY posted a few months ago this thread about being at the time newly diagnosed with Barrett's oesophagus which you are welcome to respond to if you wanted to connect with this particular member.

I hope that other members of our community who have also been diagnosed with Barrett's oesophagus will be along shortly to share their experience and story with you. It helps sometimes to talk to others who may be a little bit further along in their diagnosis and have overcome this initial shock of the news and I hope they'll have supportive and reassuring words for you.  

Have you been told what the next steps might be in terms of treatment or monitoring? 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Matrixjs,

A very warm welcome to the forum.

Your post sounds very similar to my husband's case. He was diagnosed with Barrett's Oesophagus by letter a few weeks ago, following a Gastroscopy. Like you, he was given no information about this. He had 9 biopsies taken, but all were thankfully benign. We were simply referred back to his GP and told that he may need to be referred back for a further Gastroscopy, if the  condition worsens. He also had an endoscope on the same day and was diagnosed with Diverticulitis (I'm not aware of any connection between the two). Two days later he had a CT scan. 

We saw his GP last week and he was unhappy with the report, which he claimed, was contradictory to the first letter we received after seeing the Gastroenterologist. He has requested a Barium swallow and results from the CT scan, which we still haven't had. 

If you use the search facility at the top of this page and enter Barrett's, you will find other people who have had this diagnosis. Fortunately, this is a pre-cancerous condition and should mean that you have caught it early. I do hope that you get your results soon and that it is still benign. Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine 

Hi Lucie,

thank you for the links to information it has been very helpful, a week now since I found out my news it has started to sink in a bit more, the first 4 days were worse the worry and sleepless nights.

It was the shock really and not knowing what Barrett’s even was, I thought I was just going to be diagnosed with a hiatus hernia which is what my late father had, they did say I have this to.

the next steps they said to me was I will get my biopsy results in two month and be referred to the Barrett’s clinic in due course.

thank you