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Esophageal Cancer

Archives for August 2012

Update on Don Reed
A brief update. Today Don looks 98% better than yesterday. The surgeon had the liver doc and kidney doc come to see Don and review reports. They want to find out why those numbers are elevated. Don will have an ultrasound of those organs on Friday. Yesterday Was the worst day ever. They still don't know what brought it on…
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/
Freida
Hi Freida Have you heard from Judy? I am worried and am wondering how Don is doing. If possible can you let us know? Thank you so much Barbara
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…
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…
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…
6 years!
I just wanted to tell everyone that August 18 marked 6 years for me. I just celebrated my 38th birthday and am thankful to be alive. There is hope. Thanks be to God!
A Quick Update
I did see Jr on Friday and he was sitting in his chair listening to his gospel records. I was surprised to see how much better he looks compared to what he looked like in the hospital. His eyes are more clearer and wider and he talks with more strength. But he is in pain 24/7. He held off on taking any pain meds until…
Energy levels
I feel beat a lot of the time, and I sleep a lot. Of course, I >AM< on chemo, which might possibly (ya think???) have something to do with it. Anyway, looking for suggestions to get me some energy. I start teaching next month (Sept 24th) and it WOULD be nice to have some energy. Suggestions from the great brain trust???…
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…
Stage IV EC with SIR treatment?
Hello everyone - it has been a long time since my last post. My dad is 14 months fighting his battle with EC, he has done well with his chemo overall. He first was on Folfox now on folox. His ec tumor has been stable but his spot on his liver has increased to the point where his oncologist had him meet with Dr. Eric Reiner…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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
Judy is having Don moved
Judy posted this a little while ago "Finally had enough and demanded he be sent to Univ of Mich. first we were waiting for a bed and now we are waiting for insurance approval. They have a bed we just need the insurance company to approve. The docs have documented three very good reasons for the transfer and hopefully the…
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…
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…
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…
Xloda - Blisters on Feet
I wonder if anybody has experienced this side effect of Xloda ... comes under a general heading of Hand and Foot syndrome, which covers various symptoms like itching, redness, peeling etc. But in my case, my heels, and the balls of both feet have turned into big blisters. 2 big deep blisters on each foot. Tried lancing but…
Judy please read
Hi I read you post and like Sherry am concerned. As I mentioned to you before you and Don remind me so much of Vince and I with the motorcycles and the chain of events that have happened. Vince had severe stomach pain too. He had fluid in his ankles,legs,chest and abdomen. This was causing his pain, especially his abdomen.…
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…
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…
Woo hoo a partnership between my library and ECAN
Just wanted to let you all know that my library has partnered with ECAN (Esophageal Cancer Action Network) to spread the word about heartburn and cancer. I am so proud of this, and hope that this is the beginning of many partnerships between the organization and libraries all around the country. We need to get the word…
Early termination of 5FU!
Dave's doctor discontinued the 5FU yesterday, saying it had been 4 weeks, the affects of it are 99% complete on eradicating the tumor if it indeed has (won't know for sure until PET mid-September)and that the side effects were doing him more harm than good at this point. We are finally seeing some light at the end of the…
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…
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…
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…
Escozine for Stage IV
Anyone heard of this? It is derived from Caribbean Blue Scorpion venom. Here is an exert from an email I received from a friend... keep in mind, that this isn't approved by the FDA... that was also in the email. Escozine, currently in pre-clinical trials at the University of California, San Diego, Moores Cancer Center.…

Esophageal Cancer

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