About

My name is Dan Masters and on April 16, 2010 is was told that I had celiac disease. I was 34 years old.

The Diagnoses of Celiac Disease

My GI doctor discovered that I had celiac disease after doing a biopsy during a follow up EDG (scope down my throat) and confirmed it with a blood test. I was having the EDG because I had been diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer in September 2009 and had finished chemo and radiation treatment. I am happy to say that as of today I am cancer free.

In the course of talking about celiac with my doctor I explained to him that I did not have any of the classic symptoms of celiac such as gas, bloating, or diarrhea. He told me to try it out so we could see what a healthy small intestines look in 4 months when I had my next follow up EDG. I told the doc sure I’ll try it but had no intention of doing it. I mean what would be the benefit from cutting wheat products out of my life? It sounded like more of a pain then anything.

As we was finishing I ask my doc if he thought whether my cancer was some how related to the celiac disease. He said no, he had never heard of celiac causing esophageal cancer. I left his office and went and had a gluten filled dinner.

It was my last.

Esophageal Cancer and Celiac Disease

Later that evening my doctor called me. He said that he was so perplexed about my case – 34 years old and esophageal cancer. Most people who get that cancer are twice as old as me and have either smoke or drank heavily their entire life. I had done neither. He told me that he did some quick research to see if there was a link to esophageal cancer and celiac disease and had found a study in which they made a connection.

The study was done out of the UK back in the 1980′s and has been the only study that looked into this. in that study I guess they did see a direct correlation between people who had untreated celiac disease and it’s eventual transformation into esophageal cancer. In the study the people who got cancer got squamous cell carcinoma which was the most common type in those days. Today most people (like myself) get adenocarcinoma.

With this evidence it is possible that my untreated celiac disease could have caused or been a contributing factor in me getting cancer.

No Choice in Going Gluten Free

With this new found information I went from “I’m not going to do that gluten free thing” to “I have no choice”. If I did not want to see this cancer come back then I needed to do everything I could to ensure that. Being gluten free was part of that.

The rest of the story is what you can say is history.

About this Website

This website is here to document my journey in living the gluten free life and to be a resource to others that also must make this journey. My hope is that as I learn my way that I can make it easier for others to do so as well.

If you happen to find yourself in the same shoes as me hang in there. It is difficult at first but once you find your footing you will be OK.