Lump in throat, unintentional weight loss, heartburn is it gerd or cancer?

Unable to tell: At the age of 18, esophageal cancer in you would be extremely unlikely. However, the only way to tell if something in the GI tract is cancer is to perform endoscopy with a lighted camera that searches the GI tract and biopsies anything that looks unusual. Unintentional weight loss needs to be explored as it can be a sign of cancer, but there are other causes as well, such as thyroid disease.

Consider endoscopy: Upper GI endoscopy is usually ordered with these symptoms to determine exactly what is going on. At your age reflux may be the cause, however, with the lump in the throat symptoms, i would also consider eosinophilic esophagitis as a possibility. Endoscopy with biopsy will allow them to put your mind at ease to rule out cancer, look for reflux changes, and check for precancerous barrett's change.