When is follow-up after cancer treatment recommended for Barrett's oesophagus?

Surveillance checks how your oesophagus is responding after treatment and looks for changes that may need early assessment. Your plan may include clinic reviews, discussion of swallowing or reflux symptoms, medication review and an endoscopy when your specialist considers it appropriate. The timing is individual: it can depend on whether abnormal cells were present, which treatment you received, and what earlier examinations showed. Follow-up can continue even when you feel well because some changes are found during planned checks rather than through symptoms.

Keep each appointment and bring an up-to-date list of medicines, including acid-reducing treatment. Record new swallowing difficulty, food sticking, chest discomfort, reflux that is changing, vomiting or unexplained weight loss. Ask which test is planned, what the result will guide, and when you should expect the next review. Do not stop prescribed treatment without discussing it with your clinician.

Contact your care team promptly if swallowing becomes difficult or painful, food repeatedly sticks, vomiting persists, or you notice black stools or blood in vomit. Seek urgent help for severe chest pain, breathing difficulty, vomiting blood or sudden inability to swallow. These symptoms need assessment whether or not a surveillance appointment is due.

Ask: When is my next review or endoscopy? Which findings determine the interval? Which symptoms should I report between visits? Should I continue my current reflux medicine, and who should I contact if symptoms change?