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His ship has sailed; raise a glass to the Captain
My husband and best friend Stephen passed peacefully Friday night with his close family by his side after a long battle with Stage IVb esophageal adenocarcinoma due to Barrett's esophagus/acid reflux with mets to the lungs. We all admire his courage, dignity and grace throughout this entire year. He fought this disease on…
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Advice! How long to wait?
Hello All - My father was diagnosed with EC last Thursday, 8/4/2011. On Friday, 8/5/11, he had a CT Scan and a PET scan on Sunday, 8/7/11. The results of the two scans were shared with us on Monday and Tuesday - the local surgeon (who performed the endoscopy/biopsy) said the scans looked 'great' and that the cancer was…
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Update from Callaloo
Thanks so much to all of you for being here, even if I haven't been. Your caring thoughts mean so much to me. As William guessed, I have been struggling with the increasingly harsh side effects of the Xeloda. I think it has built up in my system. I took a couple weeks off to try to clear it out, but the break wasn't long…
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j-tube removal or replacement?
My husband is post MIE from 7/21 with Dr. Luketich (UPMC). He has been in rehab for conditioning because he had some dementia pre surgery. The question is his j-tube is clogged and not in place (confirmed by abd. x-rays). He is tolerating a soft diet great along with liquids but do you think I should ask them to re-insert…
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PET scan questions
looking for advice; I had a PET/CT scan in May. I went 12 hours without food and dringk prior to scan. I made it through 15 minutes of scan, then had liquid come up and got choked. This took around an hour to get over. Needless to say, I could not finish the scan. Now, we are uncertain how to handle future scans. Has…
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CT Dad w/ St IV EC 6/22/11
Hello all, As I start my first post - my dad is almost two months in his new life with cancer. This was a shock for us all, he went to the hospital for a heart procedure but the dr.'s were forced to stop mainly b/c the heart was beating too fast (due to the fact he was bleeding from what we now know to be EC). My dad just…
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Final report card after surgery
Hi guys, My fin report card from UPMC upon discharge. 21 lymph nods clear , no sign of cancer any where. Praise God....I ,m learning what I can eat. Recovering on schedule (1month). I am so glad I had the MIE with dr. Luketich and his crew of fine surgeons. I pray everyday for the people on this site.... please pray for…
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back for more chemo
Well, after several months of a chemo 'holiday' Lee is going to face another round, starting this Thursday. This comes as a result of discovering that the tumors in his liver have grown by 50% within a month, and the esophageal walls thickening. He has had very poor appetite, and trouble swallowing. We are hoping to see…
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One Year Since Surgery and Good CT Results!
Sharing good news! My husband, Bob, was diagnosed March 31,2010, T3N1M0. After chemo, and chemo with radition, he had MIE robotic surgery at Mayo, Rochester on August 16, 2010. Yesterday he had bloodwork and a CT scan, both came back with good results and "No evidence of disease!" Linda
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Rickie's Scan Results Half Empty or Half Full
After being on the road all day we finally returned home from Houston tonight. Rickie had scans on Monday morning and an appointment with the doctor the same afternoon, so the results were only preliminary, however the doctor said that the cancer appears to be "stable." At first I think we were a little disappointed, as…
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3 Years
August 12 will be 3 years since my surgery. I was T3N1M0 and now 100% back to normal. I function as a firefighter, long distance hiker and biker as good or better than before my cancer. I have been blessed for 3 years and this is to let everyone know that there is a normal after this event. No more dumping and can eat 2…
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Pericardial effusion
Hi Friends, Jim was diagnosed with Pericardial effusion which is excess fluid in the heart sac. After researching it I see radiation, chemotherapy, and cancer can cause it. His cardiologist is monitoring him and having echocardiography monthly to see if it grows. He said he isn't thinking it is cancer, but has to make…
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Now the doc says biopsy first
Today the surgeon called and said he would like to do a biopsy on the lymph node that showed up on the scan. He wants to do it next week with the possibility that he could remove the node. If the node comes back positive, they will postpone surgery and do more radiation. If it comes back negative, they will go forward with…
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Sophomore Class Update
The inter-net service at my house was not working for over a week (it was fixed once for 5 minutes) so I have not been able to read or post anything thing on the site. Took me a while tonight to read all the post. John’s last day of Radiation was on July 11. He is scheduled for a CT scan of the chest/abd. & pelvis on Aug.…
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Hacker
Does anyone who is technical know how to get rid of the hacker initials CP?
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Reply to all who answered from Mrsbotch
I would like to thank so many of you for responding to my husbands recurrence of EC. We went to a very prominent surgeon in Atlanta, Georgia for the minamilly evasive procedure. He had done quite a few of these procedures. We did get a 2nd opinion and will start next Tuesday with very aggressive chemo. He will take…
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Add another Sophomore to the class!
My husband, Nick - age 48 Stage 3 with node involvement - joined the Sophomore class on August 4th! Endoscopy dx on 05/19. EUS & PET on 06/14 to Stage. Nick did 28 raditions with weeks 2 & 6 in-patient chemos - Cisplatin followed by 96 hours of 5-FU. Our radiation machine broke twice accounting for the delay. Nick's stable…
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A new study supporting early screening for GERD
All, Below is a link to a study completed at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center which found that Esophageal Cancer Risk Higher in Medically Treated GERD Patients with Fewest Symptoms http://www.upmc.com/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/2011/Pages/Esophageal-Cancer-Risk-Higher-in-GERD-Patients.aspx. (copy and cut and…
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Going for MIE at the end of August
I just found out that I have stage 1 EC. I'm so happy to have found this site. Don't know what to expect and it's great to read these posts. It definitely provides some comfort. I'm having the surgery at Brigham and Womens in Boston. Has anybody had it done there? Thanks,Shawn
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Scans today
We are in Houston now, and in the morning Rickie will be going in for a CT scan. We are praying for good results. In the afternoon we will have an appointment with the doctor to hear the results and see where we go from here. I will keep you all posted on what we find out. Sunday we celebrated our 35th anniversary. The…
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Mixed news for us
Luis had his CAT scan today and we got the results of his PET scan as well. The good news is that the tumor shrunk quite a bit, but it is not gone. The bad news is that a new lymph node showed up on the scan. The lymph node is in the upper right chest area. It was outside the radiation field. The doctor wasn't sure if the…
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Here we go again!!!!!
First off I would like to thank everyone on here for the support given to me while my brother Raymond was going through finding out he had esophageal cancer and through the chemotherapy and radiation.... William I would very much like to thank you for giving me all the information about having the surgery which was passed…
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update on me....
Hi everyone. It has been a long, long time since I posted anything as I haven't felt that I had much advice to offer these past few months. I have followed the posts and have prayed for everyone. This disease is a bear but I know that it can be beat and pray for a cure for ALL cancers. For those of you that know me, know…
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Dad is coming home
My dad is coming home from the nursing home as the insurance company decided that for us. He is able to get up and take quite a few assisted steps (walking). I am worried for my mom and dad. My dad is nervous about going home and my mom will be his caregiver. This all happened (him going home) within 2 days--thanks…
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Update on my dad "Seeing Dr.'s at University of Chicago"
Just wanted to give you an update on my dad age 67, b-day next month. On July 1 diagnosis with EC T3, N2, MO, had PET/CT scan last week, nothing has spread. Port will be put in on Thurs. So, chemo starts on Monday: week 1: cisplatin and 5FU continuousv(portable pump) for 5 days along with radiation Mon-Fri. Week 2-4:…
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Just an update
Dale is now 19 months post esophageal cancer diagnosis. The oncologist told us at our last appointment that he is in "complete remission". We are so very thankful to have been given time that we never thought possible upon receiving the original diagnosis. We feel that we have been thru so much during the past 18 months,…
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Continuing Saga of the feeding tube
Hi Friends, I decided to back off on "guiding" Jim regarding getting off the feeding tube and eating. I suggested he call his surgeon's nurse who is monitoring his recovery. She advised him to immediately remove two of the six cans of formula and substitute with food. We planned a trip to visit my mother in Colorado last…
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UPDATE ON DAD
Hello friends! I hope everyone is doing well. Just thought I'd update since it's been a while. My dad finally went to UCIrvine to get a second opinion from Dr. Nihn Nguyen. THANK YOU MR. AND MRS. MARSHALL FOR ALL OF THE INFO AND RESEARCH ON THIS DR. My parents just LOVE him. They feel VERY comfortable talking to him, his…
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Mon. mother starts cisplatin and paclitaxil
The doc's have said the government has pulled Flora-5 ??? This is what they said at mothers appiontment today. They have replaced it with paclitaxil. SO here we go . I hope everyone had a good week and a better weekend!
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An item of interest for our Stage IV survivors
I found this posting on another EC posting board and I thought I would be of interest to our Stage IV survivors. Please note Lois' contact information in the "From" line. Subject: Television Interview From: Dickerman lxd4@ATT.NET Reply-To: Esophageal Cancers Discussion List EC-GROUP@LISTSERV.ACOR.ORG Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2011…