Dad Thought He Had Acid Reflux. Then His Daughter, a Nurse, Saw What He Ordered for Dinner

David Kimmel had struggled with heartburn for years, so he initially dismissed his trouble swallowing food as a symptom of reflux

NEED TO KNOW

• David Kimmel’s daughter, a nurse, noticed his unusual dinner order and, along with her brother, urged him to see a doctor
• Doctors diagnosed Kimmel with stage 3 esophageal cancer, which shares symptoms with acid reflux
• His cancer was caught at a curable stage and the treatment has been effective

Pennsylvania dad David Kimmel, 71, had struggled with heartburn for years. So when he began to have trouble swallowing, he dismissed his symptoms as acid reflux — until his daughter, a nurse, noticed something strange about his dinner order.

"We were sitting outside and we were all getting burgers and you ordered soup,” Laura Kimmel told her father during an interview with WHTM about her May 2024 birthday dinner with the family. "I thought that was very strange for you. Because you couldn't swallow any, like, any of the solids. And I thought, ‘Well that's just really weird. Why would you order like a hot soup outside at the end of May when it's really hot out?' ”

He also had a persistent cough, which his son, Seth, noticed.

At the urging of his family, the Mechanicsburg resident made an appointment with his doctor, who recommended Kimmel get an endoscopy to examine his throat. That's when doctors discovered inflammation at the base of his throat — which turned out to be stage 3 esophageal cancer.

Acid reflux, which is when stomach acid gets into the esophagus, causes symptoms like a sore throat and trouble swallowing, Cleveland Clinic says. But esophageal cancer can also cause throat pain and heartburn.

"I was in shock when I got the diagnosis back," Kimmel said. 

But there was good news: "We caught it at a curable stage," University of Pittsburgh Medical Center oncologist Dr. Sri Lakshmi Yeruva told the outlet. Kimmel began chemo and radiation, then underwent surgery to remove the cancerous lesion. "It's very important to know this and also have endoscopies done sooner," Dr. Yeruva said.

At one point, his symptoms were so severe that Kimmel needed a feeding tube, as he couldn't swallow, UPMC says. 

But two months ago, he completed his immunotherapy treatment — just in time to make it to his daughter's wedding on May 16, which he says is "right around the corner."

With his cancer struggle behind him, Kimmel is hoping to continue his family tradition of living very long lives: "My mother is 98," he said. "Her mother, my grandmother, lived to be 103."

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