Why does food stick to my throat?

Q: I am a 31 years old male having problems in swallowing food. The food often sticks to my throat and goes into the food pipe only when I drink water. Is it some sort of cancer? What should I do?

A:Your symptoms of intermittent difficulty in swallowing is very characteristic of motility disorder of the gullet (or oesophagus), which means the muscles of your gullett are not contracting as they normally should thereby resulting in painful act of swallowing. This needs immediate diagnosis for appropriate treatment and I suggest you consult a gastroenterologist for an endoscopy +/- manometry studies.