Conyers, Ga. (February 11, 2025) – Piedmont Rockdale Hospital recently held an esophageal pre-cancer screening for first responders in Rockdale County. 42 out of 90 personnel from various Rockdale County Fire Departments participated in the screening.

Esoguard, the tool Piedmont Rockdale is using to perform the screenings, detects esophageal cancer, but most importantly, it prevents it by detecting pre-cancerous cells in the esophagus so they can be treated early. According to research, firefighters are 62 percent more likely to develop esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and have a 39 percent higher likelihood of dying from EAC. Esoguard testing allows providers to identify individuals with precancerous cells and begin a preventative treatment plan before it becomes a cancer diagnosis.

Risk factors include:
• being a white male,
• being 50 or older
• having a history of smoking or esophageal cancer in your family
• and long-term acid reflux

If you have three of these factors, you should get screened.

The test itself is in the form of a small capsule the size of a multivitamin. The person swallows it and a textured balloon opens up and gathers the cells, all of which, which takes about one-minute. Piedmont Rockdale partnered with Lucid Diagnostics to do the testing.

To learn more about oncology services at Piedmont, visit piedmont.org/cancer.