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what do i do now
my sad story- this past winter i was told i had esophageal cancer the doctors said i would need chem and radation then surgery. i had 5 weeks of chemo and 6 of radation. i afew days before surgery the pet scan came back with bone mets. me and my poor wife have been so upset that we dont even no what day it is. any way i go…
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what an ugly disease
I sit here and listen to my husband cough and choke. He's taking steroids, cough medicine, allergy medicines, and of course chemo. Nothing seems to help. And while undergoing this assault of his respiratory system, he's discovering sore spots on bones. Someone posted here a few weeks about "how it all ends" I wrote to her…
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Prayers for Ray (Jr.)
Prayers (Can we still use the word prayers or is that offensive? hope not, because I sure believe in them.) for my brother Jr. Jr. goes this Friday for a CT Scan. He does not have chemo today. He has been in really bad pain, they have increased his pain meds, again. Last week he lost 5 more pounds. Please, help pray about…
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Paul61---About colonoscopy
Paul, I read your post on the colonoscopy. It will be five years in Nov. since I had the test and it was all clear. Is the reason for your three years because of the polops, or is there a shorter time than ten years for EC patients? I've never heard reference made to this? I will have another ct scan in August and will be…
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Endoscopy/Colonoscopy
Funny how many docs we have, isn’t it? I went in for my endoscopy and colonoscopy today with my gastroenterologist and saw my thoracic surgeon sitting in one of the offices. I never saw this man much—I mostly dealt with my oncology surgeon after my Ivor Lewis. But even after over 2 years, my thoracic surgeon remembered me…
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Avastin(Bevacizumab) in combination with chemotherapy
My father has stage IV esophageal cancer. He is in his late 50s. He went through four rounds of 5-day continuous infusion chemotherapy, which was a combination of 5-FU, Cisplatin, and Docetaxel which significantly decreased the size of his cancer. So, his oncologist switched him to a less aggressive treatment of Avastin…
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More stinking bad news
Well phooey. This second round of chemo is NOT working. I have little cancer-buddies popping up here and there. A subcutaneous lump on my ribs under my right breast, sitting in the layer of fat over my right pectoral muscle, and of course that so-called infection in my jaw, which turns out to be a tumor. So, 24 hours a…
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It's been a while
Well I have been a way for a little while, but I am back. It has been a little bumpy for my husband lately. So when I last left off we had found out it was in his lungs. Well on June 4 he will have another scan to see if the third line of chemo is or is not working. The last one they had him on Taxotere did nothing at all.…
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Nick - One Year, One Month after Diagnosis - Gone....
Nick has had recent dizziness, and facial weakness. A CT brain scan on 05/11 showed a tumor on the cerebellum. The MRI on the 18th showed 2 others and a host of "tumor dust" and Leptopmengial disease (cancer in the spinal fluid). In order to control the dizziness, lessen the seizures and give Nick a quality of life for the…
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Chemo/Radiation versus Chemo alone
I am really confused about the need for chemo/radiation therapy before surgery. I am quite happy to go with the Chemo, which I am to begin in 4 days, but I am really having problems with the radiation therapy. To me it seems an unnecessary process, as the surgery will remove all of the known tumor and the surrounding lymph…
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Good news!
My husband,Santo, had a clean PET scan/CT scan this week. It's been 15 months since his MIE surgery at University of Pittsburgh with Dr. Luketich. We are so relieved and thankful that he contines to be cancer free.
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what now?
My dad is in great shape, active, "healthy", etc., however, his tumor has grown so large that he cannot even drink. He is very hungry and thirsty, and is still living his normal life, but I know he cannot go long without nourishment. The thing is, he is under hospice and they will not allow a feeding tube of any sort. Has…
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Happy and grateful anniversary
Today marks one year since Charlies MIE surgery. Just thinking right about now I was by him in surgical Intensive care and he was sleeping peacefully. What a whirlwind 1 1/2 years it has been. With alot of ups and downs. But we are so grateful for the 3 clean scans and stable weight and only a few episodes a month of some…
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It was peaceful, but yet so hard!! My dad's obituary
Ronald D. Hill LA CRESCENT, Minn. — Ronald D. Hill, 68, of La Crescent passed away peacefully at the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center with his loving family by his side following a thirteen month fight with esophageal cancer. He was born in La Crosse on April 5, 1944, to John “Jack” and Louise (Clements) Hill. On Sept.…
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sangora (sam) still hanging in there
It's been a while since I have checked in, but pulled myself together this morning to get online for a few minutes. I am continuing to stand my ground with EC. Hospice continues to do a great job both in pain control as well as emotional support. I have had a couple of bad pain days but my hospice team got things under…
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Starting Chemo any suggestions on how to cope welcome
At last my chemo is scheduled to start next Thursday. During the work up in preparation for my surgery there were a number of problems discovered with my heart. I had a 90% blockage in my coronary artery, and my biventricular-pacer/icd which I have had for 5 years as a result of cardiomyopathy needed replacement. These…
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long 5 months
Well i don't know where to start, so here goes. I went for a route checkup of an endoscopy and a colonoscopy in Jan of this year at hines VA Medical Center in Hines IL and was told i had Esophageal Cancer and after some more test i was told i had t2n0m0 and i should have chemo and RAD then surgery. I wanted a second a…
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Is it a cyst... OR????
About a month and a half ago, I realized I had this subcutaneous lump sitting on a rib under my right breast. It was about a half inch in diameter, round, and raised up about 3/8 of an inch. I brought it to the attention of the physician's assistant in Oncology, as the Oncologist only visits Moses Lake every other week and…
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incisional hernia
I went to my surgeon yesterday four and a half months after my surgery with a concern. I had developed a "bump out" about the size of a my fist along the lower portion of my abdominal incision. He determined it to be a hernia on the incision. Which is what I had expected. This was one of the things I was warned about the…
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Snoring and cancer
Found an interesting link on Drudge in regards to snoring and cancer. Supposedly an up to 5 times more likely to get cancer if you snore. Snoring Can Raise Cancer Risk --Jerry
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starving the cancer??
Update on my dad: After he received the G tube, he was still not able to do any feedings, as he was feeling to full and crummy all the time. Last Wed. after radiation, his blood pressure was low, and he was still sick and now bloated. They did hospitalize him. As of today, he is still in there. I do not know much, because…
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JDO -- Get a 2nd Opinion!
If your oncologist immediately gives up and says "There is no cure for you, only palliative treatment", immediately get a second opinion from a top-level cancer center. My Doctor wouldn't even stage me. I had no idea there was such a thing until I found this site. Just cancer in the esophagus and lymph nodes does NOT…
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post treatment scan
We are heading to the u of mich sat . I am scheduled for my post treatment ct @ 10:30 am. Scanziety runs amook.
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It's back but did it ever really go?
Hi folks I only posted here once and live in the UK. I guess when I posted I knew something was not quite right. Well my world has fallen apart! I wrote that since returning from your wonderful country on the 2nd of May I had been having symptoms which were consistent with a brain tumor. On Tuesday evening the headache I…
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Recently diagnosed cancer, 64 years old, about nutrition ... for life after diagnosis
Hi all, I am from Romania and after much searching I found this site and that I read a few days. With your permission I will tell my story. (unfortunately real, no fiction) My husband, Adrian, was diagnosed with EC in November 2011. The investigation began when the sensations have increased the lump in the throat and he…
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Has anyone experienced Small Bowel Obstruction related to Esophageal cancer?
Hi there, Im dan and Im around the 2 year mark post treatment for stage 4 esophageal cancer,never had an operation,just chemo and radiation but had a j tube inserted in my stomach. Have been having problems and ended up in hospital couple of times in the last month due to having a small bowel obstruction. The doctors tell…
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Please fill out details on About Me Page
Hi, Can everyone fill out the About me page with full details on symptoms before diagnosis, staging, treatment plans, dates corresponding to everything, and any other details regarding your EC? This would be really helpful for people reading. I click on many people's about me page to get more information but there's no…
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1 Minute Cure
About a month and a half ago, I saw a post on here that I can't find anymore regarding a book called 1 minute cure. Something about food grade hydrogen peroxide therapy. Does anyone remember that post and was it just a scam? Any opinions?
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Trying to Stay Positive...
It can be so hard to stay positive throughout this battle. I am in awe of those on these boards who are suffering with this beast and find time to help the rest of us as we do what we can for our loved ones. I feel so helpless watching my dad go through all this. At this point, I had to admit my dad to the hospital on…
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Post chemo then chemo/radiation results - good news
Bill just finished a week of tests at M D Anderson to assess his progress 5 weeks after 2 months of chemo followed by 6 weeks of chemoradiation (no surgery due to other health problems, as many of you know). We were terrified to find out the results, but as they trickled through during the week, they were more than we…