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My 36 yr old brother has just been diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer
Hi all, My brother (36 years old) was just diagnosed this past Monday (6/14) with Esophageal Cancer. I am in total shock as I didn't think it could happen to people so young and especially that it could ever happen to anyone in my family (if you know what I mean). I have been trying to read up on as much information that I…
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Update on my brothers long wait
I wrote awhile ago about my brothers long wait for biopsy results. His biopsy was done on June 3rd and the results finally came back on June 25th. This long wait was not easy, his pain and nausea levels were increasing and the doctor couldn’t get a handle on them. We ended up taking him to the E.R. on Friday, June 25th for…
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Foods to eat, or avoid
I need some information on foods to avoid or foods that anyone has found tolerable after EC surgery, chemo, and radiation. I do eat 6-7 smaller meals through out the day. Seems lately that I am having stomach pain with almost everything I eat. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Duane61
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Robert had surgery June 30th
Robert had his surgery at University of Michigan on June 30th. Recovery has been difficult for him which is the opposite of what I expected since he is only 36. The doctor's and nurse's say a younger person has more pain receptors. He has been in a terrible amount of pain and had alot of difficulty breathing. The day after…
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July 4th, Diagnosed w/ stage IVb
Hi, My husband first started complaining of pain in chest and back end of May. Visited his primary doctor who ordered blood work and Ultra Sound of stomach, did an EKG. All came back as ok. He finally told the doctor that he was still hurting bad and he was ordering a full Stress Test. My husband finally asked to see a…
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update on Ed
Well Ed has had four radiation treatments this week and has been in bed every since. He says he is extremely tired. I know that radiation can make you tired but this fast? We have fifteen treatments in total to do and I am wondering how he is going to make all of them if he is this tired already. He seems very angry and I…
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Good news...
The doctor (actually the nurse) FINALLY called today with the biopsy results and I'm clean! No pre-cancer or cancer cells detected. Just esophagus irritation from acid reflux and the hiatal hernia. Whew! I just want to thank all of you who have posted and been supportive of me. It's sad, but I'm received more emotional…
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post operation questions
Hi all its been a while since I posted as I had the surgery 6/4 at Sloan Kettering NYC. I cant say enough about the care at this hospital it was excellent. I developed a leak post op but not on the esophages but on the stomach area, where it was sewn . I was in Sloan 25 days most of the last 10 days waiting for the leak to…
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My dad (65 yrs old)
My dad found out that he has EC on 6/17/10 after having a CT scan and biopsy. We (my dad, my mom, sister and myself) visited with onc dr today. The dr could not tell us the stage of dad's cancer or if it has spread. The staging is something that is important to know, correct? The surgical pathology report is calling dad's…
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Kim's Dad got great news from Duke Docs!
Hi all-some good news for our EC folks--I am so happy to share that the Docs @ Duke were very happy with all my dad's results, including the CT scan! They even said he doesn't HAVE to come back for 4 months for the next appt, but want him to get a regular family physician for any minor issues and are sharing the lab…
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Second Opinions, HMO's and Insurance
All, It was suggested that I should post my reply to a previous post as a separate discussion topic. While many of us fight this horrible disease with everything we possess sometimes we are forced to battle on a different front at the same time in order to get our loved ones the best medical care possible. While the…
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Weight loss
Hi, I wish I had found this site when I was diagnosed with stage 3 esophagus cancer in Nov.'07. It also involved a couple of lymph nodes in stomach. I had chemo before surgery, then my surgery in May '08. I didn't know there are different types of surgery until I read it here: but mine was the bad one. The surgery was fine…
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After treatment
My story began June 2009 when my husband was diagnosed. The tumor was in the lower esophagus and had spread to the lymph nodes. He had eight months of chemo (carboplatin and taxotere). He also had 7 weeks of radiation with a chemo pump (5FU). He took Zeloda for only two weeks as he had a severe skin reaction. In Feb. of…
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A little bit of good news!
It's been a while since I posted because there was really nothing to tell. However.......Mike had another endoscopy done and there was not even a trace of a tumor anywhere!!!! The gastro doc was shocked and so are we. As I understand it tho, this does not mean remission at all, it may mean an extension on my son's life,…
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Can we chat with people only in the EC group?
Or do we have to chat with everyone on the network?
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Praying for good test results for my (Kim's) Dad
My mom & dad on their way to Duke a 3 hour drive that have done so many times. My dad just finished his cleanup chemo (5 rounds xeloda 2 weeks on, 1 off). (he had chemo/rad at Duke and then surgery 12/09). He is pretty wiped out, but what bothers him more is recurrent diarrhea. They don't know if it is due to what he's…
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Good news on Dad
An update and some good news. As many of you know my very active 78 year old father was diagnosed with T3N1M0 Stage three esophageal cancer in December of 2009. He started his course of 2 agent chemo (Carboplatin and Taxol) and then did another course and added 30 radiation treatments. He had a stent inserted in his…
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Daddy lost his battle this morning
At around 4am this morning, my sweet daddy went home to be with the Lord. This cancer came quick and took him quick. I wanted to thank everyone here for there support, help, and information. I plan on staying on this discussion board and maybe be of some help to someone else that fights this nasty disease. Thanks to all of…
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Lyle's memorial service
Lyle's service was today and we had about 450 people in attendence. He was truly love by so many. The service was sweet. There was a song sung, "No More Night", we listened to a recording of Lyle singing "A Sinner Saved By Grace", and our dear friend Cathy play "Near to the Heart of God" on the piano. To top it off we had…
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update on Ed
Well Ed was not a candidate for that stereoradiation so we are starting whole brain radiation tomorrow., fifteen sessions and the oncologists told us up front " I do not believe it will get rid of the entire tumor but hopefully it will shrink it down", there is a 50/50 chance of this happening, also you can only do whole…
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Worried....
Hi everyone. I'm new here and wanted to post to see if I could get any input. I finally broke down yesterday and went to the doctor after having problems eating for months. Sometimes when I eat, the food gets stuck and I have to quickly wash it down with something to drink and then when it finally goes down, I hurt for a…
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Had good news today and wanted to share!
We saw the surgeon today and hubby IS a surgical canidate! Such great news. He continues to improve from the recent bump we hit with the pheumonia and clots. We have to work on getting him stronger and build muscle mass. He is to weak for surgery at this time, but we will get there. Just wanted to share. Take care Nancy
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Boston area
Is there anyone who lives in the Boston area? I'd like to get together and see if there's anything we can do to raise awareness and possibly funds for this type of cancer -- I need control over something these days! If so, feel free to email me at carolynwhipple@juno.com. Thanks!
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we are still playing the waiting game
Well Ed has been out of the hospital a week today and we are still awaiting to hear from dana farber cancer center in Boston to see if he is a candidate for stereotatic radiation, if not, we will have to do whole brain radiation., boy, this waiting can be so stressful. Diana and I are doing ok, this new cancer met in his…
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The waiting game...
The waiting game has begun.....again. Lou had his final(#6)round of chemo 3 weeks ago and so he had his CTscan this morning. Now we can see what effect the treatments have had. His Dr is out of town this week, so we have to wait until next week Wednesday for the results. Whew! Don't know if I can hold my breath that long!!…
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Anyone with mets to the brain? What have you done??
My husband is stage 4 ec cancer...his last pet scan was very good...the chemo has been working...but then this one brain tumor in the cerebellum showed up in mri. They are suggesting surgery or whole head radiation... we have been advised against surgery since it is too risky...and are probably gonna start whole head on…
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Hurry up and wait......
Hello everyone. I had a few minutes so I thought I'd post an update and catch up on some others as well. My son has completed his radiation, and will begin his 3rd round of chemo next week on Monday. This time they're adding a "pill" to the cocktail. I don't have the name of it yet tho. Tomorrow morning he's having another…
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Sports are a good way to take your mind off it all
I think it's important to find ways to make sure that dealing with this disease doesn't take up our every living minute. Thank God for the World Cup and Wimbledon! My dad's been in the hospital all week getting a j-tube placement and we have been watching soccer as much as possible. My dad is very interested in the games…
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Need info on use of Herceptin with Stage IV EC, please.
Jim had an appointment today with an Oncologist here in Colorado. As he was reading through lab reports from MDA, he wondered if anyone at MDA talked with us about Herceptin. We said we thought the test showed negative. He said the slide with the test showed negative, but in one of the lab reports we didn't get, they also…
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Life After Cancer
I don't post on here often, but read them each day. At lest one person on this board knows me well, but anyway, I want to share my cancer story and the life after. On April 14, 2008, I was dx with EC (T3N1Mo). I headed to MD Anderson in Houston, TX for treatment, because my local Onc told me that we have only one shot at a…