It has been reported that some patients have been misdiagnosed with Achalasia, when in fact the correct diagnosis in their specific case was Oesophageal Cancer.
Oesophageal cancer is generally two different type of cancer; squamous cell carcinoma (top of the oesophagus) and adenocarcinoma (bottom of the oesophagus near the stomach). Symptoms include new heartburn, difficult or painful swallowing, vomit that has blood in it, reflux that does not go away, black or bloody stool, fatigue, feeling of choking and unexplained weight loss. Other conditions that share similar symptoms are oesophageal varices (enlarged veins), achalasia (nerve damage to oesophagus), reflux, ulcers, booerhaave syndrome, and esophageal diverticulum. Oesophageal cancer is rare and slow growing but patients only have a five year survival rate of 22% so quick diagnosis is crucial to survival.