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Esophageal Cancer

Phase One of Treatment Complete!
Hopkins has a tradition of patients ringing a bell once their radiation treatment is complete. Today Dave rang the bell. As someone said at the beginning of this journey, the treatment time will go by faster than you think. Now granted I'm not the patient, but from my perspective it did go by fairly quickly. He will still…
Which type of chemo treatment would be best?
Hello, I wanted to ask for your kind help. My mother is 87 years old and has had esophageal cancer for over a year and a half. She was told that her cancer had spread outside of the esophagus to multiple lymph nodes. My mother had chemo for about a year (Folfox), and that stopped the cancer outside the esophagus from…
Berries and Barrett's
We saw the GI doctor today and he shared a study with us that he thinks could be helpful for people with Barrett's and those trying to prevent a recurrence. Also showing merit with colon cancer so if anyone posts on those sites you might want to share this link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2196225/
Gaining weight after surgery
Willliam, this one you can probably answer, but I am 4 years out from IL with no problems at all as far as I know. I am 100% back to normal. I easily hike 100 miles on the Appalachian trail with a 30lb pack with no problem. What I do find is that my weight is creeping up. I was 235 before dx and have stayed around 210, but…
Help with excess saliva....
My dad had an esophagectomy in January, had a clean CT scan in late June, and has been blessed with a pretty good recovery. Over the last 2 weeks, he has experienced a lot of saliva that sort of muddled his speech at times. He's expecting a call back from his doctor tomorrow, but is there anything that can help him with…
stage 4 update
hello friends i had another pet scan last week and it showed 75 percent less cancer activity in the main esophageal tumor and no new cancer any where in my body. i do have 3 bone mets and they have gotten smaller as well. my doctor told me this was the best possiable news we could have ask for. i ask him what do we do now…
More Cancer but not EC!
Well the results are finally revealed. My husband has Renal Cell Carcinoma now. He is a 1.5 year survivor of Esophageal Cancer. We have been so concerned it was going to be a reoccurrence that hearing it was Kidney Cancer was in a strange way a relief. He will have to have another surgery, no chemo or radiation and…
Another eating question- how long does it take for food to digest
I was curious if it takes longer for food to digest now that I had a total esphogetomy. I'm 12 weeks out from THE surgery. does refashioning the stomach into a gastric tube slow down the digestion process? For example this morning I had my "normal" coughing fit to clear air and mucus, eventually I vomited up the tuna and…
Esophageal doctors at Sloan and Penn, some help needed
Hi, Helping out a Stage 3 patient from Wilkes Barre, if anyone is a patient/survivor at Sloan or Penn, would you mind noting your doctor, or emailing me. I didn't mention Pittsburg, since William and others have greatly provided that information. jfoproject@comcast.net -Thank you ,I got 3 responses already from survivors…
Still dealing with sore throat
Well, I pretty much have figured out that it's back. I've had a on and off sore throat for months now. And now my tongue is sore. Anyone else have this happen. Onc dr said very unlikely it would be cancer because of the type I had..well...I guess time will tell
3.5 weeks post surgery--having problems.
I breezed through my surgery with flying colors, and now reality has sunk in. I'm having problems with digestion, sometimes I am regurgitating my food, my heart rate is well over 100, hot and cold feelings, my incision site is killing me. I have no energy whatsoever. Mayo said that the heart rate has something to do with…
Esophageal Cancer Hospitals and Doctors list from patients and survivors
Hi Sherri and William, Please feel free to remove this post, if it is better handled in email. I'm am working on a list of EC cancer centers (first priority) and list of doctors that can be posted on the web for all to reference. Currently the ACS and NCI do not provide EC specific listing only comprehensive cancer…
Recently diagnosed, surgery coming up.
Howdy :) My name is Greg, I was recently diagnosed with stage 1B Adenocarcinoma. I'm set up with Dr. Ninh Nguyen at UCI for a laproscopic Ivor-Lewis Esophagectomy. First surgery is 8/27, 2nd (main one)is 8/29. Has anyone had this procedure? Would really love to chat with someone about what to expect afterwards. Thank you…
Keep fighting! Make my mom proud!
Friends, I know we are all here at all different stages of EC. You and us, we're all a statistic of one. Remember that. This is a place of comfort, information, and peace for those experiencing EC. Tonight my beautiful mother has left her cancerous body behind to feast on a turkey buffet in heaven (she looooves turkey, but…
My Dad
Hi There, My parents live in NY and I in Chicago. He is being treated at Strong Memorial Hospital (Rochester, NY) and his physicians are Dr. Tijani (spelling?), and Dr. Peters. (FYI- my father is 74 years old, until this has been in good health, other than the fact that he is a lifetime smoker) The past several months have…
Don's PET scan is clean!!
Hello everyone!! What a roller coaster ride the past nine days have been. We went to Sturgis and ended up flying home on Wednesday August 8 through the day and early morning Thursday. Finally got to Bronson hospital on Thursday morning. Things proceeded to go downhill very quickly and there was test after another and no…
Looking for support
Hi, my dad was dx with esophageal cancer (adenocarcinoma) in may. I am in Australia but can't seem To find this kind of supportive network, so was hoping I could join. Dad is 63 and lost his dad to ec 30 yrs ago. My mums dad also died from this 15yrs ago. I know it's a tough battle. My dad was dx at an earlier stage than…
Spinal Surgery
My husband Dan has Stage IV. He is being treated in NY at Memorial Sloan Kettering and has been doing relatively well on the chemo, with a good quality of life. Back in March he needed radiation (IMRT) for a tumor on his spine that was getting too close to his spinal column. The radiation left him with Esophogitis. At the…
Bill 3 month check up
I almost hesitate to post this with so much sad news here right now, but I know I have always appreciated reading the happy news so hope this will bring a little brightness to someone's day. Bill had his 3 month check ups this week at M D Anderson - PET scan, CT scan, endoscopy, and meetings with main oncologist and…
Ray Jr.
As of today my brother seems to be feeling better. He had the stitches removed at the site where they put in the feeding tube, he said it was not a pleasant experience. He feels so much better and he believes it is from that Essiac Tea he is taking and of course the nutrients he is probably now getting through the feeding…
The beginning
I could really use any advice from anyone about how to find the best cancer doctor in Northern California/Bay area for my brother to treat his esophageal cancer. I know this will be a difficult road and I could sure use some guidance and support. I feel lost and am very scared for him. I am not ready to loose my big…
Praise and Thanksgiving form The Midwest
It has been 6 months since my husband Tim had esophagectomy at the IU hospital. On his 3rd month, adjuvant chemo was not an option as he was still weak from the surgery. Chest X-rays always come back clear. Yesterday, he has hist chest and abdominal C T scan and it all came back CLEAR. All organs are clean. Praise God for…
upcoming surgery
My husband is having an esophagectomy done by Dr. Luketich at UPMC a week from today. I am also a member of CancerCompass which has also been helpful and informative. I read many of your posts today and found very helpful information. My husband has stage 3 adenocarcinoma and is her2 positive. He has had radiation, chemo…
Happy Update from Judy Reed about Don
Judy posted this on facebook and asked that it be reposted here. " I am hesitant to post this but I think we have been given about as close to a miracle as you could ask for. Today brought on a miraculous change in Don. This morning the docs were talking about sending him to Ann Arbor to see if their specialists could…
Urgent: EC IV M1b: anything we can do besides Chemo?
Hello everyone, My name is Lilly Xu and my father in China was recently dignosed EC IV M1b. He had a successful surgery 4 years ago because of EC.In the past few monthes, he complained about the belly ache and doctor gave him some medicine ( they thought it was just some minor digestive problem), but recent CT showes…
Just got my surgery date
I'm scheduled for esophagetomy on 8/23/12 for cancer at the ge junction. I'm stage 1B. Can anyone tell me what to expect about the surgery? My doctor has given me his talk but I'd like to hear what someone who has been through it to let me know what it was like for them. Thanks John
New to CSN - Had chemo and surgery - a couple of questions for the group.
My husband Richard, was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer in February. We started our first round of Chemo in March. Had our break in June and then had surgery at the end of June. It has been a long and lonely road as there isn't any support group at the VA where he is being treated. Richard spent 2 weeks in ICU after…
Pretty serious mouth sores
Hi everyone, I spoke to Dave this afternoon and he said that his mouth sores have "taken a turn for the worse" (his words) and that radiation thinks that chemo is causing them and he needs to stop chemo for a bit. They prescribed a pretty heavy duty pain med for him, and emailed Dr. Kelly his medical oncologist. His…
Muscle Wasting
My Dad is Stage IV. Overall, he has been doing quite well. In 2010, he weighed about 190 lbs. @ dx. He has been through a lot the past couple of years, but has managed to keep his weight between 180 - 190lbs. Recently, I would say within the last 30 days or so, he has looked a little thinner... like NOTICEABLY thinner. His…
Tumor Board
Said November 12th, your Dad is Stage IV. They said, your Dad has the largest mass we've ever seen. They said, he can't have surgery. They said we can try chemo/rads but we're not confident for remission. They said 6-12 months. We said, holy ****!!! Sunday marks 9 months. My Dad now says, PET shows no cancer activity, two…

Esophageal Cancer

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