"The downside of this was that because you're pulling the larynx all the way down, when you eat, all the food has to go past the larynx - and miss it - and get into the esophagus," Lieberman says.

This cancer starts in the cells that line the esophagus (the tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach) and usually occurs in the lower part of the esophagus, according to the Mayo Clinic.

When you swallow food, it travels down your esophagus into your stomach. Here enzymes and acids go to work on the food, beginning the process of breaking the food down.