Jennifer Matthews: When all seemed right with her life, Rebekah Carpus got news that just didn't stack up for her.
Rebekah Carpus: I'm young and I've got young children, and I thought I had cancer.
Jennifer Matthews: It Started When Rebekah Had Trouble Swallowing.
Rebekah Carpus: I had the X-rays with the barium swallow and that's where they actually detected the cyst, and then I had the endoscopic procedure and then, that same day, I had a CAT scan.
Jennifer Matthews: Three tests - still no answers.
Rebekah Carpus: He said it could be a tumor, or a cyst, he had no idea.
Dr. S. Faisal Jafri: The problems we've had in the past in diagnosing GI cancers has been the accuracy with which we diagnose them.
Jennifer Matthews: Now an additional test can improve diagnosis.
Unlike a traditional endoscope, which looks inside the gi tract, the endoscopic ultrasound looks through the tissue into surrounding organs.
Traditional tests suggested this woman had a mass on her esophagus. The ultrasound told a different tale.
Dr. S. Faisal Jafri: Whatever we see is outside the esophagus, not in the esophagus. It changes everything that we've been thinking so far. They were planning on doing surgery to take her esophagus out. By doing this test we have told them that there is no need to do surgery.
Jennifer Matthews: A biopsy done at the same time will determine if it is cancer or just an infection. Thanks to the test, weeks of worry came to an end for Rebekah.
Rebekah Carpus: They were able to tell me that day 'We did not find any cancerous cells.'
Jennifer Matthews: Now She Can Go On Building Her Future, Knowing She'll Be Around. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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