Hello Joe. It sounds

Answer 1

Hello Joe. It sounds like you have an infection of the stomach with a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori for short) and possibly a condition called MALT lymphoma. H. pylori is extremely common throughout the world and infects about 25% of people in North America, although it does not cause disease in all these people. H. pylori affects the stomach or duodenum (first part of the small bowel) and can cause inflammation and ulcers as well as an increased lifetime risk for stomach cancer if not treated. It is also associated with a condition called mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. This is a type of cancer that starts from a certain type of white blood cell that normally aggregates in the lining of the stomach, usually in the setting of long-time inflammation from H. pylori. In your case, I suspect you are infected with H. pylori, which has caused chronic inflammation and, more recently, an ulcer. Your endoscopist likely took biopsies during your endoscopy and found that you have a MALT lymphoma and H. pylori and subsequently prescribed a course of antibiotics to treat both (typically, this involves at least two antibiotics and an anti-acid pill for at least two weeks). The good news is that MALT lymphomas, when confined to the stomach, frequently completely resolve when the H. pylori is successfully eradicated (gotten rid of) with antibiotics (your doctor may suggest a CT scan to make sure it has not spread beyond the stomach). You will need to have a follow-up test a couple months after completing your therapy to make sure the H. pylori was successfully treated; the simplest way to do this is with a stool study, but there are other ways as well. If the bacteria is still found, you will be prescribed another round of antibiotics.