Nancy new to site

nancy1169

I was told I had Esophageal cancer Nov 2009. Went tot he Mayo Cinic her in Fla and it was reconfirmed. Surgery is scheduled for 11 Feb. I am luck I am told mine is just in the lining caught very early stage. I am scared!!!!! Lots of questions. Will I be able to eat regular food again? HELP I am losing it

Unknown

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

MOE58

I WAS SCARED TOO NANCY
Hi Nancy, welcome to our site, but like William said tell us a little more about you, I am a caregiver for my husband of EC, he was diagnosed on April Fools Day, yes I was waiting for someone to scream it was a joke but it was not, he was only 45 and never sick when we got the diagnosis. He was diagnosed a stage 2 and not in the lymph nodes, now he had the open surgery which they call a esophojectomy where they go pull the stomach up and make a new esophogaus, he just had his surger in July 09 and he eats pretty much what he wants, now his appeptite isn't like it was but he does eat normal food and in smaller quanities.

Now I was scared just like you I didn't know what to expect, and I was like a baby in diapers, I just didn't know if I could handle going through with someone that has cancer, it was an amazing journey, but I wouldn't have changed one bit of it I have learned so much on this journey, we have had some big BUMPS in the road, I had to learn to wear the BIG GIRL PANTIES AGAIN, and speak up, but I will be here for any answers.

I got told alot of things I didn't want to hear, I didn't like some of the answers, I was scared, and thought OH GOD can I really do this. Well you can, if you stay with us on this site we will help you and get you through your most difficult days, You might not want to hear some of the things we tell you, but in general it will help you and you learn as you go once you start with us you won't be able to come on and report to us what is going on and what is happening.

Please feel free to ask we have all went through this one time or another, we are there we vent, we cry, we laugh, sometime we are sad for the others, we are one happy family, even though we have never met these people on this site, we feel like we have. Please know William is very knowledgeable on his EC CANCER, and even though you might not like what he says, (which i didn't in the beginning he scared me) he knows the answer he lifts your spirits, he says a prayer for you, and in the end he is your best friend. Please know we are here for you and we all pray together, just take a deep breath let it out and tell us more.

we love you

Lori aka MOE

MOE58

wrong word
that is suppose to read "you will have a hard time waiting to report"

sorry
Lori

K_ann1015

take a big breath-you have healing to do!
Nancy
First of all WELCOME!

you are lucky to have caught it at early stage! Most, it seems on this site, are caught at stage 3 to 4. I even read somewhere that you don't have trouble swallowing until the esophagus is 2/3 of the way blocked! So try to get as healthy as you can before surgery---some exercise, vitamins & eat as healthy as you can. Some even suggest to gain a little weight if you are thin, since some loose weight after surgery. (of course I am not a doctor, just another family memeber-my dad had stage 3 went thru chemo, radiation and surgery).

Do you have trouble eating now? What kind of surgery are you getting?

Keep us posted--many on this site have already been through what you are going through and can help...hang in there!
Kim

Tina Blondek

K_ann1015 said:

take a big breath-you have healing to do!
Nancy
First of all WELCOME!

you are lucky to have caught it at early stage! Most, it seems on this site, are caught at stage 3 to 4. I even read somewhere that you don't have trouble swallowing until the esophagus is 2/3 of the way blocked! So try to get as healthy as you can before surgery---some exercise, vitamins & eat as healthy as you can. Some even suggest to gain a little weight if you are thin, since some loose weight after surgery. (of course I am not a doctor, just another family memeber-my dad had stage 3 went thru chemo, radiation and surgery).

Do you have trouble eating now? What kind of surgery are you getting?

Keep us posted--many on this site have already been through what you are going through and can help...hang in there!
Kim

You are not alone, we were all scared!!
Dear Nancy,
Hello and welcome to our family! It is ok for you to be scared. You are most lucky to have found this out at stage I. Once your surgery is done, after you recover, you will be able to eat again. My dad is an ec survivor. Now he has mets to his liver, he will start his chemo within the next few weeks. We fought and beat this once, we will beat it again!! So will you.
Found out all the information you can, ask a lot of questions, start a journal, come to this site everyday. This site is great therapy. Keep us posted. Prayers are being said for you.
Tina

nancy1169

Tina Blondek said:

You are not alone, we were all scared!!
Dear Nancy,
Hello and welcome to our family! It is ok for you to be scared. You are most lucky to have found this out at stage I. Once your surgery is done, after you recover, you will be able to eat again. My dad is an ec survivor. Now he has mets to his liver, he will start his chemo within the next few weeks. We fought and beat this once, we will beat it again!! So will you.
Found out all the information you can, ask a lot of questions, start a journal, come to this site everyday. This site is great therapy. Keep us posted. Prayers are being said for you.
Tina

scared
I am 56 years old. They found the cancer when they could not find anything wrong with my heart after I went to the hospital with chest pains. I have a choice of the surgey where they take out the esohpagus and take my stomach and make me a new one or treat the cancer and hope they can get it with radiation and some kind of scraping. Play a waiting game and hope. I think that will be worse than having the surgery. The cancer I have I am told is aggressive. I also have Barretts esphosgus. I hear aq lot of stories that I will nto be able to eat again that I will have to have a feeding tube for the rest of my life and on and on. I am in good health right now except fo the cancer. My surgery is scheduled for the 16th of Feb at the mayo clinic here in Florida. Just hope I am doing the right thing. Thank all of you for listening and replying. It does mean a lot to me.

Betty in Vegas

nancy1169 said:

scared
I am 56 years old. They found the cancer when they could not find anything wrong with my heart after I went to the hospital with chest pains. I have a choice of the surgey where they take out the esohpagus and take my stomach and make me a new one or treat the cancer and hope they can get it with radiation and some kind of scraping. Play a waiting game and hope. I think that will be worse than having the surgery. The cancer I have I am told is aggressive. I also have Barretts esphosgus. I hear aq lot of stories that I will nto be able to eat again that I will have to have a feeding tube for the rest of my life and on and on. I am in good health right now except fo the cancer. My surgery is scheduled for the 16th of Feb at the mayo clinic here in Florida. Just hope I am doing the right thing. Thank all of you for listening and replying. It does mean a lot to me.

Ohhh how wonderful they caught it so early!
You will be fine. I am going to have to post a picture of Layne from Houston if I can figure out how to get it off the phone. You will see--he is 2.5 months out and well, he eats everything. In fact, I have to tell him NO MORE. We are trying to get his weight down but ...well, he loves food.

You will not have a feeding tube for the rest of your life. You'll be fine. You need though, to ask your doc all these questions, too. He or she can give you so much information, and there may be a mentoring program where you are, too...so you can meet with other patients who had this surgery.

I won't lie, it's a tough surgery. It's miserable. The healing process is WORK. But you can do it, and you will move past it, and you will one day help others through.

AND you have all of us...slightly strange group that we are! And we will provide prayer, support and love!

Betty

Unknown

nancy1169 said:

scared
I am 56 years old. They found the cancer when they could not find anything wrong with my heart after I went to the hospital with chest pains. I have a choice of the surgey where they take out the esohpagus and take my stomach and make me a new one or treat the cancer and hope they can get it with radiation and some kind of scraping. Play a waiting game and hope. I think that will be worse than having the surgery. The cancer I have I am told is aggressive. I also have Barretts esphosgus. I hear aq lot of stories that I will nto be able to eat again that I will have to have a feeding tube for the rest of my life and on and on. I am in good health right now except fo the cancer. My surgery is scheduled for the 16th of Feb at the mayo clinic here in Florida. Just hope I am doing the right thing. Thank all of you for listening and replying. It does mean a lot to me.

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

maria53

Welcome
Hi Nancy and welcome to this site. i am also fairly new. My husband was diag Nov and had surgery in Dec. We will be starting chemo on Monday and I think we are getting on OK. WE have been to Mayo in Florida before for another of Chucks health issues and were very happy with the care we received there. We are using the J tube for supplementing at night and Chuck is able to eat small amts as he feels able to. It is not that difficult to manage once you get the information you need and think of the tube as your silver bullet for days when eating is not easy. You will find so much good information on this site and reassureance from others who are going through similar problems. you will find even with the same diagnosis, each story is a little different but what is the common thread is knowing that we are not alone in this rotten fight. Hang in there and touch base when you can. Maria

nancy1169

unknown said:

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

feeling better
Thank you very much for the links they did help. I keep reading and hearing
about a 5 year survial with the surgery. Can you expalin more about this before
I start jumping to conclusions? 5 years more would be better than the 6months to a year I have
now with out the surgery. It would be nice to know there was a chance for a longer life than that
but there is no guarantee on how long we will live anyway. I will take what ever the good lord gives me.

Thank you all very much

Nancy

nancy1169

unknown said:

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

feeling better
Thank you very much for the links they did help. I keep reading and hearing
about a 5 year survial with the surgery. Can you expalin more about this before
I start jumping to conclusions? 5 years more would be better than the 6months to a year I have
now with out the surgery. It would be nice to know there was a chance for a longer life than that
but there is no guarantee on how long we will live anyway. I will take what ever the good lord gives me.

Thank you all very much

Nancy

nancy1169

unknown said:

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

feeling better
Thank you very much for the links they did help. I keep reading and hearing
about a 5 year survial with the surgery. Can you expalin more about this before
I start jumping to conclusions? 5 years more would be better than the 6months to a year I have
now with out the surgery. It would be nice to know there was a chance for a longer life than that
but there is no guarantee on how long we will live anyway. I will take what ever the good lord gives me.

Thank you all very much

Nancy

Unknown

nancy1169 said:

feeling better
Thank you very much for the links they did help. I keep reading and hearing
about a 5 year survial with the surgery. Can you expalin more about this before
I start jumping to conclusions? 5 years more would be better than the 6months to a year I have
now with out the surgery. It would be nice to know there was a chance for a longer life than that
but there is no guarantee on how long we will live anyway. I will take what ever the good lord gives me.

Thank you all very much

Nancy

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

Betty in Vegas

nancy1169 said:

feeling better
Thank you very much for the links they did help. I keep reading and hearing
about a 5 year survial with the surgery. Can you expalin more about this before
I start jumping to conclusions? 5 years more would be better than the 6months to a year I have
now with out the surgery. It would be nice to know there was a chance for a longer life than that
but there is no guarantee on how long we will live anyway. I will take what ever the good lord gives me.

Thank you all very much

Nancy

The reason you hear about five year survivors...
Is that at five years, if you have had no recurrence, they will declare you cancer free. Some cancers it is three years, but EC is five. This does not mean there is NEVER a recurrence after that, but the chances are minimal.

So we all pray for our fifth year anniversary scan....

Hugs, and sharing your terror...

Betty

mumphy

maria53 said:

Welcome
Hi Nancy and welcome to this site. i am also fairly new. My husband was diag Nov and had surgery in Dec. We will be starting chemo on Monday and I think we are getting on OK. WE have been to Mayo in Florida before for another of Chucks health issues and were very happy with the care we received there. We are using the J tube for supplementing at night and Chuck is able to eat small amts as he feels able to. It is not that difficult to manage once you get the information you need and think of the tube as your silver bullet for days when eating is not easy. You will find so much good information on this site and reassureance from others who are going through similar problems. you will find even with the same diagnosis, each story is a little different but what is the common thread is knowing that we are not alone in this rotten fight. Hang in there and touch base when you can. Maria

Hi Nancy
I have to agree with Maria when she says that we all have EC in common but everyone is different and thats a good thing!! Our Dr.s treat each of there patients differently according to there needs. You never know what will happen and what won't happen during your fight with this horrible disease

You will have the support and comfort of the wonderful people on this site to help you every step of the way. That I can be sure of.

God Bless,
Kath

Tina Blondek

mumphy said:

Hi Nancy
I have to agree with Maria when she says that we all have EC in common but everyone is different and thats a good thing!! Our Dr.s treat each of there patients differently according to there needs. You never know what will happen and what won't happen during your fight with this horrible disease

You will have the support and comfort of the wonderful people on this site to help you every step of the way. That I can be sure of.

God Bless,
Kath

You are not alone here!
Hi Nancy,
Welcome, and it is more than ok that you are scared. The best news is that you found out in the earliest of stages. I am a caregiver for my dad, Ray, 71, EC stage IV, inoperable, did chemo and radiation, but now has mets to his liver.We will be soon fighting that with more chemo. Do not worry about the statistics. That is just what they are. Averages. Think of this and yourself one day or even one hour at a time. Not 5 years from now! Do not continue to think too far ahead of yourself. You have made the right decision. You are in a wonderful place. Do you have a good support team? We are a great support team here! Just stay positive, keep your faith, and fight fight fight!!! Keep us posted and the best of luck with your surgery!
Tina