Not much time - need help

Krista9999

Hi
My name is Linda - my husband was diagnosed with EC back in October 2010. He has had all the treatments - chemo and radiation. He is up for surgery on April 14th. He is having the surgery done at Mass General/Boston. Esophogus Removed. Over the past few weeks we are hearing about "the scope" surgery "camera" etc. Even today during pre-op the nurse said to him "now you know that you are not having surgery with the scope. The doctor he has does not do this. HELP....we do not know what to do. We have heard different things about the surgery procedures.
Linda

Susie_Brendon

You need to read any and all posts from William!!
Hi Linda,
I believe what the dr. is referring to is that he is not going to perform the MIE (Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy). You need to ask for sure what kind of surgery the doctor does perform and how much experience he has at performing esophagectomies. This surgery is very intense and requires a SPECIALIST! Please read any and all posts from William. He is one of the best GO-TO-GUYS here on the site. Him and his wife Loretta are very knowledgable about the surgeries. You can also go to one of my postings titles: SURGERY RESEARCH for Brendon.... Many people have posted on the link as to what kind of surgeries they had, the stage of their cancer, and any complications they might have had.

The Ivor Lewis surgery cuts you in 3 places. The transhiatal surgery cuts in two places. The MIE surgery has 7 small bandaid (as William likes to call them) cuts.

My husband will be choosing his surgeon by Tuesday. Each surgeon has his specialty. You need to be certain, no matter who you choose, that they perform the operation more than just once a year.

I will keep you and your husband in my thoughts and prayers. And for sure, you will receive some great advice on this site.

Susie

llamp0922

Hi there,
Call the thoracic
Hi there,

Call the thoracic surgical team tomorrow morning. They can provide the clarification that you need. Keep asking questions of the medical team until all of your questions are answered. You must be entirely comfortable with all treatment decisions. If the surgeon doesn't perform the MIE, ask why. Ask if another surgeon on the team does perform the MIE.

I was treated at MGH for EC, but didn't have the surgery, due to being inoperable. When surgery was initially part of my treatment plan, I was told that my surgeon did esophagectomies more than once a week. I have had plenty of proceedures at MGH and have always had absolutely fantastic care from the OR, recovery and "Thoracic Park" the thoracic surgical floor at MGH. I wish you well! Keep us posted!

Unknown

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

nancyann3

Hi Krista
Surgery is scary. Sometimes it is hard to keep all the info you get straight. Ask questions and know what kind of surgery your husband is having. Their are different kinds of surgeries and I am beginning to believe their are modified versions of the three main ones. Depends on the surgeon and his/her choices. My hubby had a version of the ivor lewis. Cut in two places and no broken ribs. If you can have the least invasive surgery that is always best and that would be the MIE. But what is the most important is that your surgeon is the best at what he or she does.

You will find great info on this site. Come here often.

Take Care
Nancy

Krista9999

unknown said:

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

Thank you for everyone's
Thank you for everyone's help and kind words. We have made some phone calls and are awaiting calls back. William - thank you - took your advice - using Google.

Thank you again. I log onto the site everyday (since October 2010) and read, read, read. I say prayers each and every night for all of you affected by EC. I will continue to pray! Perhaps when saying your prayers - you could add my husband Ed to your list. God Bless all of you...
Linda

DanaM

Same boat, Linda
My husband, also diagnosed with EC, has a tentative surgery date of April 14th at the University of Maryland. (We live in Baltimore.) My husband is an insulin dependant diabetic and has had issues with physical healing from small cuts or wounds before. He was initially reluctant to travel for alot of reasons. But it's his life we're talking about and we fed-xed his records to Dr. Luketich in Pittsburgh, thanks to the wonderful advice and support from the Marshalls. Mr. Marshall has done alot of research on the subject and I'm not real bright, but I do know (or could guess) that there would be less danger and/or complications with a minimally invasive procedure such as the MIE. I was so shaken when we met with our surgeon, I never asked how many he had done, so I emailed him and he was kind enough to answer. He's done approximately 250 of these (none of the MIE) and the institution does approximately 35 a year with the same team. Dr. Luketich has done over a thousand. When you're overwhelmed, it's easy to sort of want to take the "close to home" route and not ask any more questions, especially when you're afraid of the answers. But I don't believe in accidents or coincidences. I believe in a good and just God, one who is perfect in love beyond our own understanding. If he led you to these waters here, drink up! I will be praying for you too, and often pray to cover everyone here also, people I've never responded to and have just read their stories. MTH 18:19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." We stand in agreement to bring the healing power of the Lord to those here who are suffering with EC. God Bless you and your husband.

flmo

DanaM said:

Same boat, Linda
My husband, also diagnosed with EC, has a tentative surgery date of April 14th at the University of Maryland. (We live in Baltimore.) My husband is an insulin dependant diabetic and has had issues with physical healing from small cuts or wounds before. He was initially reluctant to travel for alot of reasons. But it's his life we're talking about and we fed-xed his records to Dr. Luketich in Pittsburgh, thanks to the wonderful advice and support from the Marshalls. Mr. Marshall has done alot of research on the subject and I'm not real bright, but I do know (or could guess) that there would be less danger and/or complications with a minimally invasive procedure such as the MIE. I was so shaken when we met with our surgeon, I never asked how many he had done, so I emailed him and he was kind enough to answer. He's done approximately 250 of these (none of the MIE) and the institution does approximately 35 a year with the same team. Dr. Luketich has done over a thousand. When you're overwhelmed, it's easy to sort of want to take the "close to home" route and not ask any more questions, especially when you're afraid of the answers. But I don't believe in accidents or coincidences. I believe in a good and just God, one who is perfect in love beyond our own understanding. If he led you to these waters here, drink up! I will be praying for you too, and often pray to cover everyone here also, people I've never responded to and have just read their stories. MTH 18:19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." We stand in agreement to bring the healing power of the Lord to those here who are suffering with EC. God Bless you and your husband.

same boat
My husband and I were in the same boat. We had traveled 6 hours to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville FL for conservative treatment of his barrett's esophagus and we were told that my husband needed to have his esophagus remeoved. We were devastated. Mayo Clinic in Fl could only recommend a surgeon who does the large incisions method. My husband would have been in the hospital for 10-14 days. They said he would most likely have to spend time in a rehab facility after that. I was determined to find the best place for the surgery even if it meant we would have to travel out of state. My husband was still in the state of shock so I did the research. I came across information on Dr. Luketich's MIE procedure on this website. William Marshall's story was a deciding factor,too. To make a long story short, we had all of my husband's records sent to Dr. Luketich. Dr. Luketich determined that my husband would be a good candidate for the MIE surgery. We flew to Pittsburgh and the surgery was performed on Feb. 23. We have back home in Fort Myers for 2 weeks. My husband is eating 5 small meals a day,walking a mile a day, and just trying to get back to a normal routine. He still gets tired easily,but I know that will get better with time. The minimally invasive surgery was a godsend to us. It's a miracle that he recovered so quickly. I can't begin to tell you what a wonderful surgeon Dr. Luketich is. As you mentioned he has done over 1000 of these procedures. That's why we went all the way to Pittsburgh from Southwest Florida in the middle of the winter for the surgery. Other doctors have been trained by Dr. Luketich,but none have the extensive experience that he has.

cjmac49

Krista9999 said:

Thank you for everyone's
Thank you for everyone's help and kind words. We have made some phone calls and are awaiting calls back. William - thank you - took your advice - using Google.

Thank you again. I log onto the site everyday (since October 2010) and read, read, read. I say prayers each and every night for all of you affected by EC. I will continue to pray! Perhaps when saying your prayers - you could add my husband Ed to your list. God Bless all of you...
Linda

Do you live in Boston?
I have the name of a surgeon at Beth Israel that does MIE if you need.

Jim

Susie_Brendon

flmo said:

same boat
My husband and I were in the same boat. We had traveled 6 hours to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville FL for conservative treatment of his barrett's esophagus and we were told that my husband needed to have his esophagus remeoved. We were devastated. Mayo Clinic in Fl could only recommend a surgeon who does the large incisions method. My husband would have been in the hospital for 10-14 days. They said he would most likely have to spend time in a rehab facility after that. I was determined to find the best place for the surgery even if it meant we would have to travel out of state. My husband was still in the state of shock so I did the research. I came across information on Dr. Luketich's MIE procedure on this website. William Marshall's story was a deciding factor,too. To make a long story short, we had all of my husband's records sent to Dr. Luketich. Dr. Luketich determined that my husband would be a good candidate for the MIE surgery. We flew to Pittsburgh and the surgery was performed on Feb. 23. We have back home in Fort Myers for 2 weeks. My husband is eating 5 small meals a day,walking a mile a day, and just trying to get back to a normal routine. He still gets tired easily,but I know that will get better with time. The minimally invasive surgery was a godsend to us. It's a miracle that he recovered so quickly. I can't begin to tell you what a wonderful surgeon Dr. Luketich is. As you mentioned he has done over 1000 of these procedures. That's why we went all the way to Pittsburgh from Southwest Florida in the middle of the winter for the surgery. Other doctors have been trained by Dr. Luketich,but none have the extensive experience that he has.

You always give me such hope!!!
I love reading your words! A MILE WALK EVERYDAY!!! WOW! Your husband is our inspiration!!! Give him hugs from us and I will email you again soon!!!
Susie

Krista9999

cjmac49 said:

Do you live in Boston?
I have the name of a surgeon at Beth Israel that does MIE if you need.

Jim

20 Minutes from Boston
Hi Jim
Thank you! As of right now - we found a doctor who works in the same hospital - in fact as crazy as it sounds (was not told this before last week) the doctor is My husbands original Surgeon's partner. So we are awaiting word this morning to find out if he is a candidate for this.

If this does not work out - if I could get back to you - that would be great!
Thank you again
Linda

linda1120

Susie_Brendon said:

You always give me such hope!!!
I love reading your words! A MILE WALK EVERYDAY!!! WOW! Your husband is our inspiration!!! Give him hugs from us and I will email you again soon!!!
Susie

Susie, How are you Two????
I have been thinking of you both and wondering how things are going? When does
Brendon have his surgery, and what kind of surgery did you decide on? I am hoping he is feeling okay with his treatments and maintaining his weight.

Linda

Unknown

linda1120 said:

Susie, How are you Two????
I have been thinking of you both and wondering how things are going? When does
Brendon have his surgery, and what kind of surgery did you decide on? I am hoping he is feeling okay with his treatments and maintaining his weight.

Linda

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

Unknown

linda1120 said:

Susie, How are you Two????
I have been thinking of you both and wondering how things are going? When does
Brendon have his surgery, and what kind of surgery did you decide on? I am hoping he is feeling okay with his treatments and maintaining his weight.

Linda

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

cjmac49

Krista9999 said:

20 Minutes from Boston
Hi Jim
Thank you! As of right now - we found a doctor who works in the same hospital - in fact as crazy as it sounds (was not told this before last week) the doctor is My husbands original Surgeon's partner. So we are awaiting word this morning to find out if he is a candidate for this.

If this does not work out - if I could get back to you - that would be great!
Thank you again
Linda

Boston Dr.
You can contact me or go with William's suggested Dr. if yours doesn't work out.

Jim

linda1120

unknown said:

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

Hi William!
So glad to see Susie's Brendon made the right choice. It isn't easy, but it is sure easier than the other two options.

You know me, the night owl! or should I say the morning owl? We are going to the gym tomorrow so I have to go to bed. YIKES! Weight Watchers tomorrow too. I finally accepted that Jim is going to live and I have to stop eating and get healthy!

Linda

Krista9999

cjmac49 said:

Boston Dr.
You can contact me or go with William's suggested Dr. if yours doesn't work out.

Jim

Thank you
Hi Jim

We spent yesterday after noon at MGH(Boston) and met with Dr. Christopher Morse. It was the best thing that we did. He had answers before we even asked the questions. We left there feeling so much better about everything - and yes he does MIE Surgery. We really liked him and felt very comfortable - we are waiting to hear back as far as the surgery date goes.
I want to thank you again. I wish you the very best....and would like to stay in touch.
Linda

Krista9999

unknown said:

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

THANK YOU!
My Dearest William

After I received your first reply - I checked into Mass General further - Dr. Morse - yes - he was and is the one. Yesterday Ed and I spent time with Dr. Christopher Morse and everything was great! We left there feeling so much better. He is going to do the surgery! We are just waiting for the surgery date (suppose to hear back today or tomorrow). When we walked into his office - I had in my pocket a list of questions. I did not even get to ask any of them. We sat down and he started to talk - and he explained things in a way that we both understood and answered all the questions we had before we even asked. He is wonderful. I was really nervous yesterday - My husband knew nothing about the surgery's - I did have a good idea because of this site and you. I have read all the comments and articles on this site since October after Ed was diagnosed. I never replied or wrote anything until that first time last week. So I told Ed just last week about the MIE and he was looking forward to it being done this way. I was afraid when we met with Dr. Morse - that for whatever reason - Ed was not going to be a candidate or Dr. Morse was going to say he could not do it for whatever reason. But that was not the way at all. I stayed strong in his office. When I got into the elevator - I broke down. A feeling of relief.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!
Bless you and everyone here!
Linda

Unknown

Krista9999 said:

Thank you
Hi Jim

We spent yesterday after noon at MGH(Boston) and met with Dr. Christopher Morse. It was the best thing that we did. He had answers before we even asked the questions. We left there feeling so much better about everything - and yes he does MIE Surgery. We really liked him and felt very comfortable - we are waiting to hear back as far as the surgery date goes.
I want to thank you again. I wish you the very best....and would like to stay in touch.
Linda

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

JimsBrother

Dr. Christopher
Linda,

My brother Jim aka Gatoraid, had his MIE surgery at Mass General and Dr. Christopher was his surgeon. My brother has been praising this doctor since he had his surgery. Four months post surgery and he is doing great. He was a stage 3 with 2 positive nodes. His first scan since surgery and they are confident that they were able to get all of the cancer.

Naturally, it's quite possible that he could have something show up later, but for now, we are all staying as positive as we can.

I'm sure everyone here is praying for you and your husband.

Rob

Tina Blondek

JimsBrother said:

Dr. Christopher
Linda,

My brother Jim aka Gatoraid, had his MIE surgery at Mass General and Dr. Christopher was his surgeon. My brother has been praising this doctor since he had his surgery. Four months post surgery and he is doing great. He was a stage 3 with 2 positive nodes. His first scan since surgery and they are confident that they were able to get all of the cancer.

Naturally, it's quite possible that he could have something show up later, but for now, we are all staying as positive as we can.

I'm sure everyone here is praying for you and your husband.

Rob

Nice to See You
Hello Rob!
So happy to see jimsbrother posting again! Congratualtions to your brother. I can not believe it has been 4 months since his surgery. So glad he is doing well. Live for each and every day. Live in the present, do not waste precious time worrying what the future will be. We are doing as well as expected. My dad's year anniversary of his passing has come and gone. March 9, 2010. Mom spent almost the entire month of December in the hospital. She had a 4 way bypass and mitral valve replacement on the 6th. I had to put her back in hosp. on 12/21 due to fluid in her lungs and massive swelling and blisters on her feet and lower legs. She has recovered, and is doing very well. Thank you for your thoughts, concern, and prayers for her. Keep in touch.
Tina in Va