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Heart afib
Don's surgery went well and he is healing as expected. The thing that is keeping him in the hospital is problem with his heart. They are putting him on cumidin to see if that will help. After about 4 weeks, they may have to shock it back in rhythm. Please keep him in your prayers and that he will be home for Christmas. Reba
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Memorial and Life Service Dec 26th.
Christmas Blessings to you all! May everyone hug and cherish their family today and always as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. I had no idea last year at this time my dad would get EC and not be with us to celebrate. Very humbling to say the least. Tomorrow, Dec 26th, our church is having a Life Celebration service.…
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merry Christmas
Hello all, I'm hoping each of you will have a good christmas full of comfort and peace. This year has been so hard on so many of you. I pray that you will find comfort in your memories and the peace to continue ,knowing your loved one is no longer suffering. I pray for the ones who continue to fight the beast, that this…
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Just Christmas greetings to all
Hi, Just wanting to wish all my EC board friends who are like family a very Merry Christmas. Hope your holidays will be good ones. For those of you who have lost your loved ones or who are in not the best circumstances for this holiday, I wish for you that you can have some moments of peace. I will be praying for everyone…
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Seekin care for advance Esophageal Cancer in Boston
I was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer, probably in it's advanced stages and need the best facility and contacts in the Boston area. I have been informally advised that it is not operable not treatable agressively.
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My newly dx's dad is on the cusp of Stage 3/4. Regional lymph nodes are huge and "look like they wan
Hello again. (My dads info - Adenocarcinom at the GE junction, also located in regional lymph nodes) My dad's PET Scan showed no distant metestatic disease but the onc. said he is very concerned about the size of the regional lymph nodes - that they are "so large they look like they want to spread". He is suggesting we…
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Another Christmas miracle, Praise God!
I know I haven't been here in quite a while. I do keep all of you in my prayers. I want to wish you all a very Blessed Christmas and Happy Healthy New Year! We just got an amazing phone call this morning that I wanted to share. My husband was diagnosed in June 2010 with stage IV EC with mets to his bones (spine and some…
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Merry Christmas From Heaven
Merry Christmas From Heaven I still hear the songs I still see the lights I still feel your love On cold wintery nights. I still share your hopes And all of your cares I’ll even remind you To say all your prayers I just want to tell you You still make me proud You stand head and shoulders Above all the crowds Keep trying…
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More information today - newly diagnosed
I previously posted under this subject "Newly diagnosed - so many questions". William posted 17 pages of valuable information (THANK YOU!). We got more information today. So I'll briefly give the details: This is about my husband - age 51. Fairly good health. 12/7 - EGD - mass found - biopsy showed high-grade dysplasia -…
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Father diagnosed yesterday. Need to find an oncologist in Chicago/Midwest
Hello - I found this site after my 66 year old father was diagnosed yesterday. He had an endoscopy which showed tumor mass at 35cm into the esophagus, at its bulkiest point it obstructs 2/3's of the esophagus. The findings read that "at the gastro esophageal junction, extending into the stomach prominent tissue was noted,…
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Newly diagnosed - so many questions
Hi everyone, I am new here - with some information and many questions. 12/7 my husband had a EGD - a mass was found in the lower 1/3 of his esophagus. Tissue was taken for biopsy. Cancer suspected. At a minimum, surgery required to remove affected area of esophagus. Referred to surgeon. 12/14 saw surgeon who gave us biopsy…
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My Dad is Flying with the Angels now
My beloved dad, Rich Anderson, went to be with Jesus this morning at 9:45 am. I haven't been able to update since I've been at the hospital. God bless you all. You all made such a difference in his life and mine. Much Love, Deb
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Hi to all my friends on the EC board!
Hope everyone is able to enjoy a peaceful Christmas despite the phase of the journey that you are on.... Have not been over here in a while....my mother passed from SCLC in Sept and mother in law from EC in October, so it has been a gut wrenching year to say the least. I just wanted to stop in and wish eveybody well and…
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Mayo Clinic - recommendations for oncologists/surgeons?
Hello... My family discussed the idea of pursuing treatment at Mayo Clinic for my father. We will not know his stage until Thursday so we do not yet know what direction his treatment plan will go yet, but we are trying to get some ressearch done while we are waiting. If there are names of oncologists or surgeons there that…
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Dad has questions about diet
Good morning, Dad asked me to ask those that know from experience.... I've been telling him to eat less more often, and all of William's suggestions, but he wants to know.... How long will it be before he can eat normal food? Particularly steak. Also, how long does he need the Jtube? He's getting his stitches out this…
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Update - 5 days after surgery
Hi all, Just wanted to answer Williams question and give everyone an update. Yes, Jim's surgery was Minimally Invasive. He had 9 small incisions, I think 3 on his back and the rest on his front and side. Three were drains. Today they removed his nasal tube, and that was his personal turning point. Nothing else about this…
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What happens after the chemo is done?
My father is going thru his chemo as we speak for stage 4 Esophageal cancer. Recently he had a PET scan and all lymph nodes and the tumor site were clear for cancer. We all were so excited! His doctor told us he was responding well to the treatments, however the micro cells still are invading his body. He also explained he…
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Scan went reasonably well but I won't be here any more
Husband's scan was good...his onconglist is a woman...she noticed a slight thickening in the esophagus...she's an agressive doctor and since she said that ec is agressive, she will do an endoscope after Christmas....she doesn't like to wait 3 months for another scan...which is fine with us..he's gained another 3 lbs and…
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Questions to ask for the first Oncology appt
Tomorrow is my father-in-law's first oncology appt. since being diagnosed. What questions should we be asking? Right now we are just a little too overwhelmed to be thinking clearly about what to ask. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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vomiting bile ?
Hello... my father has been fighting Stage IV EC for a year. Over the past month, he has lost 30 lbs, become extremely weak and sleeps most of the day -- there is one tumor in his liver that the chemo/radiation has not impacted. Last night he started vomiting bile and now has blood in his urine. He was taken to the…
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Esophageal Cancer Staging
Thank you William for posting the general staging guidelines. Here is an article with the staging criteria specific to EC which some may find helpful. It was updated in July 2010: Practice Guidelines in Oncology - v.2.201 0 American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM Classification of Carcinoma of the Esophagus*…
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Diagnosed with EC T3 N2 Mx - what's next?
Hello everyone, My husband, 37 years old, got his ultrasound results today. The initial CT scan and endoscopy assessment gave us a hopeful prognosis of T1 N0 M0, which turned out to be too good to be true. His diagnosis based on the ultrasound is T3 N2 Mx. We are pass the stage of crying and feeling hopeless. We will do…
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Answers needed for Esophageal that has metatasized.
Starting in June 09 I had a radical hysterectomy for cervical cancer and then 4 months later I was diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer. As I couldn't swallow at all at that time, I had a feeding tube and port put in. The feeding tube was a leaker and infection set in. Another surgery was performed and I was a week in…
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William...Please don't stop helping
I have been reading this site for the past five months. William is a wealth of help and informations. Please, William, don't stop with your caring and compassionate postings. You are helping more people than you know. We need you. As for the lady whose feelings were hurt. I am sorry sweetie. I do hope you change your mind.…
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Prayers for the next few days please.
Please pray, at least one more time for me. Dad may be free from his suffering but I feel like I have been hit by a bus! Pray for strength and comfort to get through these next few days. The Vigil is Weds night and the funeral is Thursday at 1pm CST. I thought I would feel more relief from dad being free now. I'm more…
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Thank goodness for this Board and it's members
We so appreciate the help we've received from this fine group of people It is such a caring family and sense we are all in this fight together. William, Paul, Bailey, Donna and so many others have helped us with their personal suggestions. Thank you. May you have a wonderful Christmas and blessed New Year. Please keep…
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This is a strange question
My husband was never a big man but since being on chemo he looks so shrunken. He has lost all his hair, facial and head, plus the beard. He is exausted and no energy at all. he will start his 4th treatment of cisplatin, 5Fu and taxotere on Monday. I know these are rough chemos but his appearance has changed so much. Will…
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Afraid to say it!
After two consecutive CT and PET scans and an esophageal ultrasound after Dale's semi recovery from a fractured left hip were all negative for cancer, our oncologist has decided to stop the chemo. We have completed five out of twelve rounds of Folfox. The oncologists words were....."am i 100 per cent sure that this is the…
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Brother Jim's surgery
Hi all, haven't written in a while, things have been really busy the last couple months. I have been visiting and reading and you all are in my prayers. Wanted to give an update on my brother Jim and his quest to beat this monster. Yesterday he had his surgery, everything went as planned. A little over six hours and he was…
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unexplained events to report
Dear Mr Marshall I had previously asked if anyone had cancer come back to the same area of the esophagus and stomach after chemo, radiation and Ivor Lewis surgery. I received so much information from you and support. I have printed all of this for my daughter. Because she had what felt like a blockage we went for a Ct scan…