Can stress affect the stomach as well? I was becoming convinced that I must have cancer of the pancreas or oesophagus, because of painful, bloated stomach, heartburn etc, on and off for so long.

Thank you for your message and I am sorry to hear you are suffering with digestive problems. I have suffered with this a great deal in my life too so you have my empathy and sympathy!

Stress, anxiety and low mood can indeed adversely affect our digestion in many ways. When our nervous systems go in to the fight or flight mode under stress, blood is diverted away from our digestive tract and in effect start to shut it down. 

These are just a few of the possible consequences:
  -  Less digestive secretions are made to help us digest food (more wind and bloating)
  -  Stomach acid levels can increase (causing acid reflux, pain and inflammation)
  -  The digestive contractions can increase or decrease (diarrhoea, constipation, spasm etc)

I would always recommend a visit to the GP to help rule out any health conditions rather than cause yourself further worry and more digestive discomfort. 

Provided you have seen your GP and there are no other obvious causes you could try the following suggestions to help the digestive discomfort. 

Ideally anything you can do to help alleviate the stress should also be a priority as this should have a positive impact on your digestion as well.

If you would like further details about remedies that may help with the stress please do contact me again.

Centaurium is a herb known as a 'stomach bitter' and traditionally used to help aid digestion. When taken in a little water, 20 minutes or so before food, it may help to ease the symptoms you have listed. It's also important to sit down, relax as much as possible when you eat and chew your food well. Eating on the run, under stress or too quickly can also aggravate digestive function.

You could also try Molkosan Fruit taken before a meal. This helps encourage an environment of friendly bacteria which are so important to a happy and healthy digestion.

Finally you may find Bowel Essence helpful. This is a flower essence which can help rebalance the emotions which in some people can trigger an onset of digestive trouble when they are under stress.