Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coach Clarence Brooks dies of Esophageal Cancer, the Fastest Increasing Cancer Diagnosis among American Men

BALTIMORE, Sept. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The tragic death of Baltimore Ravens' Clarence Brooks as a result of Esophageal Cancer, a preventable disease, presents an opportunity to raise public awareness and save lives. 

• Increasing rapidly: The type of Esophageal Cancer that's caused by reflux disease is the fastest increasing cancer diagnoses among American men; up more than 600 percent in the past 35 years.
• Deadly: It is the #8 Cancer killer of American men; one American dies of Esophageal Cancer every 36 minutes.
• Poor Survival Rate: Fewer than one in five Esophageal Cancer patients will survive five years.
• No Real Symptoms until it is Too Late: Symptoms of Esophageal Cancer don't usually become evident until the disease has progressed to advanced stages that are rarely treated with success.
• Risk Factors: include persistent heartburn, persistent cough, sore throat or hoarse voice, choking upon lying down, heartburn symptoms that have gone away, hiccups or a family history of Esophageal Cancer or Barrett's Esophagus

If caught in pre-cancerous stages, outpatient procedures can give patients an excellent chance for survival.   Patients diagnosed with early stage cancer are also often successfully cured.  Most cases are discovered at late stages when treatment is rarely successful.  That makes early detection critical. 

Important information to help members of the public understand their risks and what they should do about it is available in ECAN's free, downloadable Guide for Patients which can be found at news.ecan.org/PatientGuide.

The Esophageal Cancer Action Network (ECAN) is the only national non-profit advocacy organization dedicated to increasing public awareness about the link between Reflux Disease and Cancer. 

About ECAN
ECAN's mission is to save lives by increasing awareness about the link between heartburn and cancer, promoting early detection, supporting medical innovation to prevent, detect, treat and cure Esophageal Cancer and linking patients and families to compassionate support. The Baltimore-based national non-profit organization is led by a board of directors of top physicians, business leaders and families touched by Esophageal Cancer.

ECAN successfully advocated with the National Cancer Institute to include esophageal cancer in its groundbreaking genome mapping project. Through ECAN's efforts, April has been formally designated as Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month across the United States. For more information, visit www.ECAN.org.

ECAN will make sources (physicians, families, patients) available for interviews about
Esophageal Cancer prevention

SOURCE Esophageal Cancer Action Network

Related Links

http://ecan.org