There are a number of causes for people having difficulty with swallowing or finding that food sometimes sticks in their throat or lower down in their chest. Cancer in either the throat, the gullet (oesophagus) or the stomach can cause problems with swallowing.

These types of cancer are rare before the age of 40 but become more common as we get older. So, these symptoms are unlikely to be due to cancer in a younger person but are a more likely to be a sign of cancer in an older person.

Although your father's symptoms may have another cause it is important he goes to his family doctor (GP) as soon as possible for a check up.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has given guidelines to GPs in England and Wales. The guidelines say that the GP should arrange an urgent appointment with a specialist for anyone who has difficulty swallowing or food sticking in the throat, if this has been going on for three weeks or more. In Scotland, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guideline Network (SIGN) guidance also says that people with these symptoms should be referred urgently to a specialist.

NICE have produced a version of their guidelines for the public too.

An urgent hospital appointment usually means that the specialist will see your father within two weeks.

When your father sees the specialist they will take a full medical history and examine him. It is likely that they will arrange some tests before they can make a diagnosis.

These tests may include an endoscopy to look at his gullet and to look at his stomach.

A barium meal or barium swallow may also be done. Your father may also have a CT scan which uses x-rays to build up a three dimensional picture of the inside of the body.