-
Vitamins and Herbal Supplements Should Be Avoided During Chemo and Radiation Therapy
I have gastro-esophageal junction cancer, T3N1, 11 months in, one 9 week EOX chemotherapy, and a second 6 week chemo/radiation therapy completed. My follow-up endoscopy biopsy from Feb 24, 2011 came back with "no evidence of malignacy." My follow-up PET scan is at the end of March and my fingers are crossed. I attempted to…
-
We found a pot hole in the road...
Less then 24 hours after discharge, Steve is back in the hosp. Seems he has a bleed in his gut somewhere. He went in with a hemoglobin of 6.2 and dehydrated. We started noticing some symptoms of this before discharged and question it, but it was dismissed as residual blood from surgery. The weakness and tiredness we were…
-
Back to Reality
I left on Feb 2 on a long-awaited Caribbean vacation and after a few days on the beaches of Anguilla in the West Indies, I succeeded in forgetting about my illness. I've been home a week, and now I have the disappointing results of my CT scan of a few days ago to jar me back to reality. But that disappointment pales in…
-
personal trainers
We have always kept our sense of humor no matter how painful the news was. So therefore we are calling our hospise team personal trainers. John my wonderful husband of 40 years has decided to stop the chemo. He was told by his doctor thursday that he suggested stopping because it was weakening him to much. John does not…
-
My mom was just diagnosed
I'm terrified! Of course, to learn about the staging, prognosis, treatment, etc., but even more-so about whether or not I will be able to be the positive support she will need through this ordeal. Mom has always been my support system; strong (often to the point of stubborn), independent and able to find the silver lining…
-
It has been a long time
It has been a long time since I have been on here.... Between work, Raymond (my brother) DRs appt, his chemo, radiation, family, etc... It has been quite an exhausting few months though my brother is way more exhausted going through all of this I am sure. I think is was because he was so exhaused that on week 5 of…
-
The troops have arrived
Just a little update on John. We had our first week of our personal trainers (Hospice) assisting us in our care for John. It is going well. I have learned alot, cried more than enough and laughed and shared many a story and memory. John is doing well for some one who has had stage IV EC for almost two years. John is still…
-
Help
Hello, My father has esophageal cancer, plus stomach cancer and liver cancer. This has been very hard on our family and I trully do not know how to deal with this. The biggest problem we are having now is finding a way for my dad to be able to eat. His throat has been closing due to the tumor growing. We need some help in…
-
Steve is home...path report....
Steve came home today. He continues to improve, altho he doesnt feel like it...lol. He is weak, but can get around for short periods. We have known that he would take a little longer to bounce back because he went into surgery weak. He is cleared to have a full liquid diet, but is still hesitant. Now for the path report.…
-
For William: I have sent you a private message.
I do hope you read the message I sent you this morning. I am hoping to get your response to my brother and sister-in-law before they see the doctor tomorrow. Thank you.
-
I'm sorry ---------- but ------
I'm sorry to intrude upon your board but after extensive Internet research, I just don't know where else to turn to for help. If you could point me to the correct board or else help me to understand the following biopsy results, I would be most appreciative. First, To begin with, my husband had an endoscopy done because…
-
Sal314 - Are you online??
Sally, I have been thinking about you alot and just wanted to check in. I won't ask how you or your mom are doing 'cause I already know. I just wanted you to know that I think of you all the time and hope you are holding up the best you can at this point. Take care, Melissa
-
Stage IV treatment
We are back at home after having gone to MD Anderson for a 6 week scan in the clinical trial that Rickie was in. Apparently he was receiving the placebo or else the drug did him no good and the cancer has grown. We had that feeling before the scan, as suddenly in the last week or two he has started having difficulty eating…
-
Not sure what to expect!!!
My husband was recently diagnosed with State IIIA EC. We start chemo (cisplatin and 5FU) and radiation on Monday. 6 weeks of treatment and then surgery to remove entire esophagus following. Any one able to help us through this would be greatly appreciate!! Thanks, Susie
-
Your experience with radiation?
Hi everyone, Tom started his radiation treatment on Monday (daily for 28 days). Of course we got a pile of materials on what to expect in terms of side effects. But I would like to hear from all of you about your experience with radiation. Some of the patients in MSK I've talked to are mostly complaining about sore throat…
-
trouble with keeping food and fluid down even with patch
Good morning to the night owls on the board and everyone else as well . I slept for 4 hours and am unable to rest anymore. My daughter has been going through this for 2 weeks or more. She eats and drinks very little but no matter after a a half hour or so it is all vomited back up almost looking untouched. She has a…
-
Steve continues to improve...
We are almost at the two week mark. All tubes are out except our good friend Mr. jtube. He will stay with us awhile longer. He is moving around easier now. Our biggest hurdle seems to be more mental then anything. I'm sure all of you, that had the surgery, can relate to that. We arent sure about discharge yet, and still no…
-
My knight in Shining Armor has passed
At 1:00 this morning my best friend, my husband, and my soul mate Vince Rizzitello passed away in his sleep.He died in my arms with me telling him how much I loved him. He was a Vietnam Vet, a Police officer, and always used to say to me "I have been a soldier my whole life." He tried so hard to fight this beast , his…
-
Facebook page with clinical trials
Thought some of you might be interested in this Facebook page. It lists clinical trials for ec and gastric cancer. It is hosted by our doctor at MD Anderson, Dr. Jaffer Ajani. Thought it might be helpful to others. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Esophageal-and-Gastric-Cancer-Resource/196966500315899 Cheryl
-
What do you have to live with after chemo, radiation, and surgery? Anyone having other medical issu
I feel very blessed that my Mom is still with me one year after her surgery. Since then however she has never regained any appetite and now has severe heartburn, back pain and anemia. She weighs 100 pounds on a 5'2" frame. Needless to say she looks bad and that has caused her to be a bit of a recluse. She has visited her…
-
Stomach pain
Went to Dr today and Don has a Hernia. That is where the pain is coming from. Will see a surgeon on Monday. Keep him in your prayers. Reba
-
Update on Keith's Chemo Plan (Boston67)
Hi, Here is a report to my family and friends on my meeting yesterday (January 24) with m,y Oncologist (Dr. Kimmie Ng) and my tube feeding surgeon on the chemo plan which begins on February 2. Report January 24, 2010 Greetings, Today was a milestone day and marks the beginning of my Treatment phase. With me at the meeting…
-
"Chemo is hurting you" ??
My brother just went for his tenth round of chemo today...the dr. told him the chemo is "hurting him" what does this mean??? In my heart I felt the chemo was just tearing him up,after his 9th round of chemo he never seemed to recover. His ankles are swollen, much acid, throwing up...That's why I have asked just when do you…
-
DCF treatment
Hi Paul started chemo today (at last) and his regime is as follows; D- Docetaxel C - Cisplatin F - Fluorouracil The nurse told us today this was a NEW combo and Paul was her first patient to receive this. He's having ALL of the above in one day, except for the 46 hours of F at home, we have the lovely bag safely positioned…
-
Hello Everyone, I am new here Update
Hello, my name is Kristen and I have a twin sister Kylie whose has been dx with Stage IV EC with mets to her lungs on Dec. 30 2010 she is 29. Kylies had one 3 hour infusion of Cisplatin, but 2 hours into it she went into cardiac arrest, rapid response was called they revived her and she spent the next 3 days in the…
-
Stomach pain
Don had E surgery on Dec 10th. He is eating well, but now is experiencing pain in the right side of his lower stomach area. Has anyone else had this? We see Oncologist this week so maybe they can shed some light on it. Heat pad seems to relieve it. Reba
-
Surgery or EMR for Stage 0 EC
Today I got confirmation that I have stage 0 EC where the cancer has not grown into the submucosa layer, yet. Gastrologist, thoracic surgeon and oncologist have been recommending for the past month that I have the surgery -- remove it and make it be gone. No need for chemo or radiation. The Barrett's tissue would be…
-
Brothers update
I've been away for a while. My computer's CPU decided it was sick and was working at about 12%. Still Which was more like my first computer with the 40 mg hard drive and windows 3.1, a 2400 baud modem, and 2 mg of ram. It would take 10 minutes to load a page so I haven't been able to read or post anything. I will slowly…
-
Please Help
Hi My husband is 44 and has JUST been diagnosed with a T3 N1 tumor EC. We are understandably devastated and need some advice if that is possible. What we need is some HOPE. We stated off at the Jacksonville Mayo clinic which is a 3 hour drive but luckily for us our neighbor is a doctor and said it was crazy to even think…
-
Crazy question...
I have a rather silly question. Steve's swollow test should be coming in a day or two. I was wondering if he will have a different feeling when he swollows or fluid goes down? I know his new stomach will fill up fast, but just wondered if it felt different going down. He has been perticular about how things felt going down…