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New- how much time?
Hi folks, How much 'good' time do we have together? My partner and i have been together for 13 years and have three beutiful children aged 3, 5 and 7. He has stage 4 esophageal cancer with one spot on his liver and in the lymph nodes. he is in the middle of treatment, and has a week of chemo next week. He has lost alot of…
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The power of H2O!!
Hi guys, Just wanted to give a quick update on Jeff and his post-op chemo troubles. I spoke with the nurse yesterday and made her very aware of the trouble Jeff was getting into...he looked horrible probably lost five pounds was pale and you all know about the extreme case of nausea. She ordered a feeding pump (coming…
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Greg has passed
This morning, just 106 days after his diagnosis, my husband Greg passed away peacefully at home. He fought a courageous battle with both his cancer and his stroke.I am heartbroken to think that after almost 42 years of marriage, I will not have my fuzzy faced teddy bear by my side. His journey is recorded on…
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EC IV on 2nd line -- From a Newbie
Hello Everyone, I'm a newbie but have been reading your posts for a while. I'd like to come out and introduce myself, see if you have any inputs regarding my (actually my father's) situation and also share some information. My father was diagnosed esophageal cancer (stage 2, squamous cell carcinoma) in Dec. 2009. The tumor…
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Update on Dad - PET Scan results
My dad has his PET last Friday and the doctor called me later that day to discuss what he saw. He said he did not see activity in his bones or liver. There is a distant Node that is showing some abnormal activity that may be related to a recent illness but cannot be ruled out as a cause for concern. Additionally, he has…
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We have a plan!
First thanks to everyone who responded to my questions about post-op chemo. I just spoke with our nurse and we have a plan. First the feeding pump with directions will arrive tomorrow, the dietician is out today, and that is ok since Jeff is starting to eat a bit more. They are sending out a home health aid to show us how…
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freaking out
Hi all, Well, Lee had an overall good weekend, we even got out for a car ride and a trip to our local apple orchard's gift shop. However...... His feeding tube site has been leaking dark brown liquid, lots of it, he soaked through his gauze pad covering several times during the last 18 hours, and it even soaked right…
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New guy here!
Hi folks, I just finished 28 radiations and 6 chemos a week ago. We go back to re stage November 3-4 (PET scan/endoscopic ultrasound) then surgery should be set mid November. I do not have a question. I just wanted to tell everyone I love everyday of my life, I plan to totally win this war, there have been so many…
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Opinions on treatment
I need your thoughts, experiences and opinions - please speak freely about them . . . . Last November, my husband was diagnosed with stage 3 EC. He underwent induction chemo, chemo/radiation and was supposed to have surgery in April. At the end of March, his preop PET showed mets to both lobes of the liver. He spent the…
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Help Please! Esophagectomy with Pull-Up, Squamous Cells! Surgery and Post-Op questions.
Dear Readers, My Aunt Pat was recently diagnosed with Esophageal cancer in September. She is a 3x Cancer survivor and has already endured so much. Our entire family is very scared because she is going to have this very invasive surgery very soon. The surgeons explained that she will have to undergo an Esophogectomy with a…
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For Mandy in Atlanta
Mandy wrote: Hi, my name is Mandy, I was just wondering who u used in atlanta, and if u had a bad experience? I am in Atl. trying to get help for a friend that I believe was not properly taken care, and now has been abandoned by the dr." My surgeon was Dr. John Moore with the Atlanta Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery Group. He,…
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For Jim (aka Gatoraid)--Nausea
Hi Jim, I thought about PMing you, but decided that others might benefit from hearing about my experience. I had a really rough time after my surgery. I vomited 4, 5, 6, or more times per day—I was a vomiting queen. Pretty much everything I ate came right back up. Cheese sounded good, so I ate some—it came right back up. A…
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Question regarding post op
My father was released from the hospital 7 days after surgery. Seemed to be doing well in the hospital. Last two night have been horrible for him. He is experiencing lots of spasms and has more pain than he seemed to have in the hospital. The pain thing is really our fault. He said he did not need the liquid Oxycodine that…
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Question regarding post op
My father was released from the hospital 7 days after surgery. Seemed to be doing well in the hospital. Last two night have been horrible for him. He is experiencing lots of spasms and has more pain than he seemed to have in the hospital. The pain thing is really our fault. He said he did not need the liquid Oxycodine that…
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please help
I am looking for info for.my husbands friend from work, he is latino and legal speaks good basic english, but I don't think he understands much about medical procedures and all that stuff. Anyone that can tell me "from ur experience or anything" if he went to hospital sept. 8th at night and was in surgery sept. 11th in am,…
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Anyone had surgery after treatment for Squamous Cell?
I spoke with Chuck, Dr. Luketich's PA the other day and I was trying to catch everything he was say but was a bit confused. He made it sound like surgery for squamous cell is difficult because the tumor is inthe middle of the esophagous. Has anyone here had surgery with squamous cell? Did it go well? Were lymph nodes…
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Post-op chemo
For those of you who have gone through post-op chemo, does it get worse before it gets better? Jeff started FOLFOX on Tuesday and since then has been having terrible nausea. He never really had nausea in pre-op chemo, but this time around it has been terrible. The nurse told him that the chemo would get easier after…
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Adube- you've gone silent. Is all well?
It's been a while since I've seen you post. Hoping that it's a busy and happy life keeping you away and not anything more serious than we already know about. I know you are watching over your dad like a hawk :) Hope all is going well there too! Give us an update when you have a moment. Terry
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Scan results - New direction
Today we went to the the oncologist at MD Anderson to hear the results of the CTScan. They only had the scan itself and preliminary report, as it was just done at 4:30 the day before, put they were able to match it up with the last scan in August and show us the comparison. Luckily the scans showed a clear liver and lungs…
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Some Stage IV Good News
When my husband was diagnosed as Stage IV EC in late June of this year, we had 3 days to make a decision on buying trip insurance and making final payment on a trip we had planned for almost a year. Of course, at the time we felt completely blind-sided, horrified, and devastated. But then, we decided as an act of faith and…
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Blessed To Have Found You All
I may be in somewhat of a unique position here in that I am not only the EC victim, but my primary care giver as well. I do have a strong support system thru long time friends but as all of you know, it's not the same. I don't mean for this to sound like a pitty party because I do not feel that way at all. It just hit me…
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CRAZY
I am reading these posts , and just realizing how crazy this disease is. How can someone with stage 3 that can not hardly swallow or stage 2 , have "symptoms" ; When mother has stage 4 no "symptoms" , feels great , ate great before chemo of course . This is why they call c the silient killer?!? Just posting this for…
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Good Scan News
I almost feel guilty for posting good news in light of all of the bad news that's been on here lately. However, I would like to think that I can encourage others who have been diagnosed at Stage III like I was. I had my regular 6-month CT scan Monday and saw my oncologist today for the results. It was great news--NED! It…
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for the stage 4's and all the others
I have been away for awhile and came back home to read alot of the new postings. Many of us know what you are going thru as the EC patient and the caregiver. Sherry and I both lost our husbands this past February. It has been a long 8 months. I know I can speak for both of us and tell all of you this is not a journey…
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Mom's Oncology Appt
We finally met with our new Oncologist. My brother and I liked him. He concurred with Dr. Nagourney's assessment and will begin chemo. I think it will be low dose 5FU and Carbo via picc line. We can proceed with both chemo and rads. He said she is Stage 3. I asked for the TNM numbers and he wrote it for me on a post-it:…
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Anyone have pre-op chemo of Taxol/Carbo and then post-op chemo for positive nodes?
Bill had his Ivor Lewis on August 29th at the University of Indiana, and the post-op path showed 5/22 positive nodes. His original staging was T3N1M0, but the post op staging was N2. When we went back in IUMed for his six week check we had hoped that they would recommend post-op chemo due to the positive nodes. They didnt,…
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Jthomas233-live and in person.
Friends and classmates- Well, I updated the day after my MIE and thought things were great. Right after that, I had every complication in the book. I had a leak, pneumonia, A-fib, a failed temporary stent, and eventually had to get re-operated on to straighten things out. I was in the hospital a month. That's all I'm going…
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Vocal cord paralysis and successful surgery
Hi, I had mentioned in a post or two that I was going to get vocal cord repair done soon and had it this past Wednesday. It was rough since I was awake for a good part of the surgery but so worth it. So if anyone out there has vocal cord paralysis and has a lot of issues talking and breathing while talking don't be afraid.…
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Lee's going LOA
Lee has asked for, and been granted a leave of absence from the hospital for the night. I think he's a bit panicky about the stent going in on Friday, so he just wants to spend the evening before at home, with his lovely wife (that's me!) and his little baby dog. I'm so excited that he's coming home, if only for the night.…
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Vacation before surgery
My mom wants to go to Hawaii before surgery (if she's a candidate). She's scared she'll die from complications. She really afraid of surgery. Does anyone have any thoughts if this is a bad idea? We would need to do it 2 weeks after her last radiation session or go the 2 weeks right before surgery. Just concerned about any…