New Here, Husband Diagnosed in February...no idea what to expect.

Anj_and_Rob

My husband is 36. He was diagnosed with EC in Feb. Stage UT3 UN2. He was having difficulty with food going down, feeling like it was getting stuck in his chest, he also said he had a burning sensation. I had to force him to go to the doctor ,they put him on a couple of acid reflux medications and after a month of not working they decided to have him undergo a scope on Feb 18, 2010. We just figured bad acid reflux or at worse an ulcer. After the scope, we were told he had a large mushroom sized tumor. The doctor said he had never seen a tumor like that. Of course hearing the word tumor, automatically we thought cancer but doctor wouldn't confirm until he got the pathology back. After agonizing over this all weekend we got the news on Feb 22, 2010 that the tumor was malignant. The gastroenterologist wanted to surgically remove the tumor in hopes it hadn't spread to the wall of the esophagus, then send it to the pathologist to see if it had spread past the "stem" of the "mushroom". Surgery to remove was actually scheduled, then doctor called an hour before surgery after consulting with his peers who advised him NOT to even attempt to remove the tumor, the surgery was cancelled. My husband was upset because he just wanted IT out of him. Little did we know there would be a long process to follow for that to happen. After the cancelled surgery, he got referred to U of M who wanted 2 different CT scans, another scope with ultrasound, PET scan, and barium swallow BEFORE they would even see him. Nobody even mentioned chemotherapy/radiation to us until my husband's family doctor got word a couple of weeks after diagnosis and called him into the office to discuss. We were under the impression from the doctor that did the scope that we would just go to U of M and have the tumor surgically removed. Not so easy...family doctor was the one who finally got the ball rolling on chemo/radiation after ALOT of calling and bugging people to get the tests he needed scheduled. Went through one Oncologist, we did not feel comfortable with (she told us he was stage 2 and he is stage 3 and was very unprepared and didn't even know there were lympnodes involved) so a friend of my husband's referred us to another, who we feel is very competant. So now we are on our way finally with this. First chemo treatment was on April 5th of Cisplatin and sent home with a 5FU pump for 96 hours. Today was the 1st of 28 days of radiation. All in all he will have 2 rounds of chemo, and 28 days radiation, then a rest period and surgery. Actually just met with the surgeon at University of Michigan on April 8th so everyone is coordinating treatment now. We hope and pray for the best possible outcome. So many questions and not knowing what to expect. I'm glad to have found this site and be able to read all your stories.

Anjanette

Unknown

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Tina Blondek

unknown said:

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Welcome to our family
Dear Anjanette and Rob,
William is right on. He is our official EC spokesperson! You have found a home here. Sounds like you are both on the right track. Thank God for your primary dr. Rob's age is to his advantage. He is young, strong, and able to fight a lot more than some older folks. I was a caregiver for my dad, Ray, 71 who beat EC, but in December 09 he got mets to his liver, and he could not beat that. He passed away on 3/9/10. It can be beat. You just have to keep a positive attitude, have a strong faith, ask and write down lots of questions. Come to this site often. It will prove to be very helpful to you. We will be praying for both of you. Keep us updated.
Tina

Donna70

on the right track
Boy, glad you finally got on the right track, no help from the original drs. Your husband is getting the correct protocol. I was Stage III with lymph node involved and have finished my post surgery chemo and am now considered Stage II. My hint would be to get as much nutrition in your husband as possible. This chemo and radiation cause a lot of weight loss and inability to eat for many people. My biggest problem has been keeping weight on, so keep him nourished as well as possible. I wound up with an NG tube before surgery and a j tube for 3 months. It is a long arduous process but it can be done, your husband is young and healthy and a lot of us are older and we make it so he can make it easier hopefully. Good luck on this journey and welcome to this board, we try to help each other as much as possible and William is a wealth of information and encouragement. take care, prayers always,
Donna70

Anj_and_Rob

Donna70 said:

on the right track
Boy, glad you finally got on the right track, no help from the original drs. Your husband is getting the correct protocol. I was Stage III with lymph node involved and have finished my post surgery chemo and am now considered Stage II. My hint would be to get as much nutrition in your husband as possible. This chemo and radiation cause a lot of weight loss and inability to eat for many people. My biggest problem has been keeping weight on, so keep him nourished as well as possible. I wound up with an NG tube before surgery and a j tube for 3 months. It is a long arduous process but it can be done, your husband is young and healthy and a lot of us are older and we make it so he can make it easier hopefully. Good luck on this journey and welcome to this board, we try to help each other as much as possible and William is a wealth of information and encouragement. take care, prayers always,
Donna70

Thank you
Thank you for all of your support and information, i've been spending alot of time reading on here and find it very helpful. My husband is due to start his 2nd round of chemo on Monday and I can only hope it goes as well as the first round did or wonder if it will be worse.


Anjanette

Unknown

Anj_and_Rob said:

Thank you
Thank you for all of your support and information, i've been spending alot of time reading on here and find it very helpful. My husband is due to start his 2nd round of chemo on Monday and I can only hope it goes as well as the first round did or wonder if it will be worse.


Anjanette

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Anj_and_Rob

unknown said:

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Thank you William, I guess
Thank you William, I guess through all this I never thought about it that way, i've been too busy worrying about what will come instead of being thankful of each great day we've had so far. I needed that!