A survey conducted by the Esophageal Cancer Action Network revealed that 86 percent of Americans don't know that reflux disease can cause esophageal cancer.
Here's what you should know:
1. ECAN surveyors polled 459 men and 547 females at the end of March 2017. Only 14 percent were aware of a link between reflux disease and cancer.
2. Less than 40 percent said they believe GERD causes cancer, despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
3. Seventy-five percent of respondents identified heartburn as a symptom of GERD, but fewer than half of the respondents recognized other common reflux symptoms.
ECAN President and CEO Mindy Mintz Mordecai said the results didn't surprise her or her organization. "But we are motivated to change them," she said.
"Folks need to know that if they are experiencing reflux symptoms on a regular basis, they should see their doctors and get checked."