please help

mjolee

I am looking for info for.my husbands friend from work, he is latino and legal speaks good basic english, but I don't think he understands much about medical procedures and all that stuff.
Anyone that can tell me "from ur experience or anything" if he went to hospital sept. 8th at night and was in surgery sept. 11th in am, could he have.been properly diagnosed and staged for this cancer?
Dr. Told him he needed this surgery (esophagectomy) so he can eat and he would be fine, then after surgery said it didn't work or could not complete it, and he needed to go home to get ready to.die. he is still in hospital and wants to keep fighting, but that dr. Has not even came back.
Any info on why this would not work or why it could not be completed?
I personally think it is due to the dr. not doing all test to confirm diagnosis and staging.
The only thing I know for.sure dr. did is endoscopy not sure if biopsy was done or could have even got results from it in this little time.
I have told his family he needs get request medical records be released so maybe I can find another dr. and legal advice.
If u have any info that u think could help please respond. This man trust my husband and wants to talk to him about everything they say and try or want to do. It is truly a live or death situation at this time. Also he is only 35

Gatoraid

My Thoughts
My first impression is that the surgeon was just after billable hours. A the very least a cat scan was needed and lab results from a biopsy were necessary. Going straight to surgery with no chemo or radiation means that the tumor is small, there is no lymph node involvement and that it is in its early stages.

How could they go into surgery and then have to back out and tell him that he is terminal? He needs to get to a hospital that has a talented cancer program and get the proper tests done to see where he is with this.

Once he gets to where he is getting better treatment, then step 2 is a good malpractice attorney.

I wish your freind the best.

Jim

LilChemoSmoker

Or at the very least....
Or at the very least a Translator with him!!!! Even if he does speak good english, Americans born to the language have a hard time navigating the medicos!

Just my thoughts.

-Michelle

chemosmoker

Scary! Need more information!!
Mjolee,
I am stage IV terminal.
I was diagnosed correctly with nothing more than an endoscopy. Not even and EUS (endoscopic ultrasound). Yes I went to two more cancer centers after that and had that EUS, a CT scan, a CAT scan, a PET scan, three long needle biopsies, and tons of blood work and consultations to go over ALL of these results that took WEEKS to do, but in the end, in less than five minutes, with nothing more than that endoscopy, my little old GI doctor got my staging and my diagnostics right on, perfect, on the first try. The additional $100,000 we have spent since then did not yield anything more or change my diagnosis. Just something to think about.

I am NOT suggesting what has happened with your firend is right at all, but I DO think thay four days is plenty of time to get a diagnosis and make a decision to go to surgery IF that is an option.
The PROBLEM comes in when, because they DIDN'T do the other testing and were not looking at stage IV terminal like me, if they went in to do the surgery, and then found it was really worse, spread to other organs or areas, was much worse than they thought without having been able to "see" what was really going on inside with a PET and CT at least, then when they got him in surgery they saw it was not what was expected, that would be a good reason to close him back up, and tell him he is terminal. Not ethical and great time to get a lawyer and sue the hell out of them, but none of that will FIX his cancer. WE don't have all the details so this is speculation at best.

What we really need is MORE information from you.
What cancer center or hospital is he at? WHERE is he in the US?
Many great folks on here can tell you the names of great doctors and cancer centers near you if you post this information. We are all here to help you. We are waiting for more information so we can help.
On a foot note, ALL three cancer centers that we have been to were not only bi-lingual in signage and paperwork, but offered Spanish speaking staff.

I would want my friend OUT of there and to another center right away, one that specialies in esophageal cancer as this is a VERY nasty cancer and very special in how it MUST be treated. At 35, I would like to think that he has a chance at surgery and treatment. There are just too many unanswered questions without more information.

STAGING is the single most important thing that can be known.
FIND THAT OUT AND POST IT TO US.

We are standing by to help.
Eric

mjolee

chemosmoker said:

Scary! Need more information!!
Mjolee,
I am stage IV terminal.
I was diagnosed correctly with nothing more than an endoscopy. Not even and EUS (endoscopic ultrasound). Yes I went to two more cancer centers after that and had that EUS, a CT scan, a CAT scan, a PET scan, three long needle biopsies, and tons of blood work and consultations to go over ALL of these results that took WEEKS to do, but in the end, in less than five minutes, with nothing more than that endoscopy, my little old GI doctor got my staging and my diagnostics right on, perfect, on the first try. The additional $100,000 we have spent since then did not yield anything more or change my diagnosis. Just something to think about.

I am NOT suggesting what has happened with your firend is right at all, but I DO think thay four days is plenty of time to get a diagnosis and make a decision to go to surgery IF that is an option.
The PROBLEM comes in when, because they DIDN'T do the other testing and were not looking at stage IV terminal like me, if they went in to do the surgery, and then found it was really worse, spread to other organs or areas, was much worse than they thought without having been able to "see" what was really going on inside with a PET and CT at least, then when they got him in surgery they saw it was not what was expected, that would be a good reason to close him back up, and tell him he is terminal. Not ethical and great time to get a lawyer and sue the hell out of them, but none of that will FIX his cancer. WE don't have all the details so this is speculation at best.

What we really need is MORE information from you.
What cancer center or hospital is he at? WHERE is he in the US?
Many great folks on here can tell you the names of great doctors and cancer centers near you if you post this information. We are all here to help you. We are waiting for more information so we can help.
On a foot note, ALL three cancer centers that we have been to were not only bi-lingual in signage and paperwork, but offered Spanish speaking staff.

I would want my friend OUT of there and to another center right away, one that specialies in esophageal cancer as this is a VERY nasty cancer and very special in how it MUST be treated. At 35, I would like to think that he has a chance at surgery and treatment. There are just too many unanswered questions without more information.

STAGING is the single most important thing that can be known.
FIND THAT OUT AND POST IT TO US.

We are standing by to help.
Eric

thanks for responses
I realize I gave little info, but I have told his family to get medical records released so I can try to find a dr. that is willing to touch him. They all want more details also. His wife only speaks few words in english so we r having another relative translate for us, because he is in and out due to pain med. This is happening in metro Atl Ga.
Sept. 8th at night is when he was admitted to hospital and sept.11th in am is when surgery was done so it is more like two days,(not sure if this matters)
The dr. Was a general surgeon, don't even know if he should have done this surgery. Their was a dr. That came to talk to him after failed surgery I think she was a GI not positive, but she said she was not comfortable in doing anything to him in the condition he is in now. Why would she say this? When I hear stuff like this along with what dr. said before and after surgery, then when my husband asked him how did surgery go? Did u get at all? And he would not answer, and will not even come check on him, it makes me think dr.did not follow proper procedures.
I realize that dr. Are only human and make mistakes, but knowing all the hatred in this world, part of me thinks could he have received less than the standard medical care.
Did he get less treatment because he is latino and maybe assumed illegal imagrant? I don't know. And I don't know if I can convince another dr. To try and help. He has good insurance. So that should not be the issue.
The surgery was done in lower esophagus area, and by that one Dr. Is it normal for a general surgeon to perform this alone? Most stories of successful esophagectomy was done with oncologist and/or general surgeon, Thoracic dr. (not sure of spelling on last one)
All I know to do is get medical records and take them to someone that specialized in this cancer type and try to get them to help.

Daisylin

mjolee said:

thanks for responses
I realize I gave little info, but I have told his family to get medical records released so I can try to find a dr. that is willing to touch him. They all want more details also. His wife only speaks few words in english so we r having another relative translate for us, because he is in and out due to pain med. This is happening in metro Atl Ga.
Sept. 8th at night is when he was admitted to hospital and sept.11th in am is when surgery was done so it is more like two days,(not sure if this matters)
The dr. Was a general surgeon, don't even know if he should have done this surgery. Their was a dr. That came to talk to him after failed surgery I think she was a GI not positive, but she said she was not comfortable in doing anything to him in the condition he is in now. Why would she say this? When I hear stuff like this along with what dr. said before and after surgery, then when my husband asked him how did surgery go? Did u get at all? And he would not answer, and will not even come check on him, it makes me think dr.did not follow proper procedures.
I realize that dr. Are only human and make mistakes, but knowing all the hatred in this world, part of me thinks could he have received less than the standard medical care.
Did he get less treatment because he is latino and maybe assumed illegal imagrant? I don't know. And I don't know if I can convince another dr. To try and help. He has good insurance. So that should not be the issue.
The surgery was done in lower esophagus area, and by that one Dr. Is it normal for a general surgeon to perform this alone? Most stories of successful esophagectomy was done with oncologist and/or general surgeon, Thoracic dr. (not sure of spelling on last one)
All I know to do is get medical records and take them to someone that specialized in this cancer type and try to get them to help.

What a nightmare!
I am so sorry for what your friend is going through. It definitely sounds like someone did something wrong somewhere along the line. I would absolutely get a second opinion, and also, having a translator is a must!! There should be no reason that they would preform surgery, then send him home to die. That just makes no sense at all.

Did they offer any chemo or radiation? I don't know the specifics of the tumour size, but from my reading, especially on this site, I believe every person here has had those BEFORE surgery.

Most importantly, help your friend make a list of questions to ask the doctor, you need to know these answers ASAP.....

Examples of what you may want to ask....

1. What stage is his cancer...... if it has spread, Where has it spread to?

2. Why did they not consider chemo or radiation? (many on here do have chemo after the surgery as well, to clean up any leftover cells)

3. Will they do chemo now? If so, what kind of chemo? (there are several 'cocktails' that are common for EC. If they are not doing chemo as a follow up, why not?

4. What type of surgery did they do? There are several different kinds of EC surgery out there. What exactly did they mean by saying it was not successful? Did they find other tumours? Did he have complications??

I'm sure there are many more questions, but I think these would be the most important to ask right now. I'm hoping others here can chime in and give you a few more suggestions for questions for the (hopefully) 2nd opinion doctor. I would run, not walk to a different doctor. Any doctor that does surgery, then won't answer questions, then stops showing up is not the doctor your friend would want, during this horrible time.

As for being Latino, I pray to god that has nothing to do with his treatment. I hope that everyone facing this beast is treated as a human being, whether he's a legal or illegal immigrant. Glad to hear that he has good insurance. We are from Canada, and have free health care, but I've heard some horror stories about the costs and red tape involved for Americans. It seems so unfair that people can be denied things that they so vitally need.

I hope you are able to give us more information and updates as they become available. Time is of the essence, and this seems especially true for your friend.
Chantal

chemosmoker

mjolee said:

thanks for responses
I realize I gave little info, but I have told his family to get medical records released so I can try to find a dr. that is willing to touch him. They all want more details also. His wife only speaks few words in english so we r having another relative translate for us, because he is in and out due to pain med. This is happening in metro Atl Ga.
Sept. 8th at night is when he was admitted to hospital and sept.11th in am is when surgery was done so it is more like two days,(not sure if this matters)
The dr. Was a general surgeon, don't even know if he should have done this surgery. Their was a dr. That came to talk to him after failed surgery I think she was a GI not positive, but she said she was not comfortable in doing anything to him in the condition he is in now. Why would she say this? When I hear stuff like this along with what dr. said before and after surgery, then when my husband asked him how did surgery go? Did u get at all? And he would not answer, and will not even come check on him, it makes me think dr.did not follow proper procedures.
I realize that dr. Are only human and make mistakes, but knowing all the hatred in this world, part of me thinks could he have received less than the standard medical care.
Did he get less treatment because he is latino and maybe assumed illegal imagrant? I don't know. And I don't know if I can convince another dr. To try and help. He has good insurance. So that should not be the issue.
The surgery was done in lower esophagus area, and by that one Dr. Is it normal for a general surgeon to perform this alone? Most stories of successful esophagectomy was done with oncologist and/or general surgeon, Thoracic dr. (not sure of spelling on last one)
All I know to do is get medical records and take them to someone that specialized in this cancer type and try to get them to help.

YOU ARE DOING RIGHT BY YOUR FRIEND....
Mjolee,
You seem to be on all the right tracks here for your friend, and asking ALL the right questions!
NO a general surgeon usually never does EC surgery, this, as you seem to know should ONLY be done by a VERY, VERY experienced THORACIC surgeon, and one that does this procedure hundreds of times a year, not a few or anything else. One surgeon is normal, with his TEAM, but there are great facilities in Atlanta. I used to live in Atlanta. Emory and many other places have great doctors but someone here can recommend someone there for him to see.
Since he has insurance his Latino heritage should just NOT matter and as Chantal said, let's all hope to GOD that this had nothing to do with the treatment!! I would bet a great lawsuit will follow that he will win if that was the case.
As for what to do, you are on it....Get those medical records and get him out of that place and to a good facility!!
He can STILL be helped but now he is in a weakened state due to a failed or botched (more like the sound of it) surgery! He needs to recover, regain his strength, find out stage, and get some chemo and/or radiation and a new thoracic surgeon and get better!!!
God bless you for helping your friend-you are a good friend. We are all waiting to hear more.

We are ALL here for you. Keep posting and asking those questions as you find out anything.
There are also resources available for him as far as help getting him to another facility. The ACS (owner of this website) is one that offers help in these situations.
There are lawyers who will take this case on its FACE if you ask me, but right now getting your friend to a good doctor is first!!

By the way, what is you NAME, and his?? We like names here.
Eric

mjolee

Daisylin said:

What a nightmare!
I am so sorry for what your friend is going through. It definitely sounds like someone did something wrong somewhere along the line. I would absolutely get a second opinion, and also, having a translator is a must!! There should be no reason that they would preform surgery, then send him home to die. That just makes no sense at all.

Did they offer any chemo or radiation? I don't know the specifics of the tumour size, but from my reading, especially on this site, I believe every person here has had those BEFORE surgery.

Most importantly, help your friend make a list of questions to ask the doctor, you need to know these answers ASAP.....

Examples of what you may want to ask....

1. What stage is his cancer...... if it has spread, Where has it spread to?

2. Why did they not consider chemo or radiation? (many on here do have chemo after the surgery as well, to clean up any leftover cells)

3. Will they do chemo now? If so, what kind of chemo? (there are several 'cocktails' that are common for EC. If they are not doing chemo as a follow up, why not?

4. What type of surgery did they do? There are several different kinds of EC surgery out there. What exactly did they mean by saying it was not successful? Did they find other tumours? Did he have complications??

I'm sure there are many more questions, but I think these would be the most important to ask right now. I'm hoping others here can chime in and give you a few more suggestions for questions for the (hopefully) 2nd opinion doctor. I would run, not walk to a different doctor. Any doctor that does surgery, then won't answer questions, then stops showing up is not the doctor your friend would want, during this horrible time.

As for being Latino, I pray to god that has nothing to do with his treatment. I hope that everyone facing this beast is treated as a human being, whether he's a legal or illegal immigrant. Glad to hear that he has good insurance. We are from Canada, and have free health care, but I've heard some horror stories about the costs and red tape involved for Americans. It seems so unfair that people can be denied things that they so vitally need.

I hope you are able to give us more information and updates as they become available. Time is of the essence, and this seems especially true for your friend.
Chantal

Thanks u all!
My name.is Mandy, his name is Manuel, he has worked with my husband Derrick for over 3 yrs. Manuel is a good person and not sure if it may be because he is latino that he did not challenge or question dr. Enough. Or maybe it is just because they are there to help us and we should be able to trust them.
Derrick was asking dr.questions about surgery, but never could get a straight answer out about why it didn't work. Or if he even removed cancer. Everyone that I have talked to even some in medical field, say if he was gonna remove it they should have tried shrinking it first.(nurses that worked @ a GI) not a dr. though so not saying he did wrong, but with the way dr. has acted and not answer questions and now will not come even check on him I believe he is acting like a guilty person.
He said the dr. never said anything about stages or anything like that.
He did not even know what the operation was called, I looked on internet and found what sounds similar to what dr. Told him he was gonna do.(esophagectomy) I thought that fit, but not positive for making a new pathway around where cancer is so he could eat, and then remove cancer as well.
But I just got some GREAT news!!! My husband coaches pour boys football team (9&10yr. old) and one guy that helps him is a lawyer and has a friend that specializing in medical cases. So some as I get medical records released I.have someone to help get someone to try to help his medical situation! I just hope when Derrick goes to see Manuel tomorrow they have what I need ready. So we can get him where he needs to be to get treatment. Thanks all!

sandy1943

mjolee said:

Thanks u all!
My name.is Mandy, his name is Manuel, he has worked with my husband Derrick for over 3 yrs. Manuel is a good person and not sure if it may be because he is latino that he did not challenge or question dr. Enough. Or maybe it is just because they are there to help us and we should be able to trust them.
Derrick was asking dr.questions about surgery, but never could get a straight answer out about why it didn't work. Or if he even removed cancer. Everyone that I have talked to even some in medical field, say if he was gonna remove it they should have tried shrinking it first.(nurses that worked @ a GI) not a dr. though so not saying he did wrong, but with the way dr. has acted and not answer questions and now will not come even check on him I believe he is acting like a guilty person.
He said the dr. never said anything about stages or anything like that.
He did not even know what the operation was called, I looked on internet and found what sounds similar to what dr. Told him he was gonna do.(esophagectomy) I thought that fit, but not positive for making a new pathway around where cancer is so he could eat, and then remove cancer as well.
But I just got some GREAT news!!! My husband coaches pour boys football team (9&10yr. old) and one guy that helps him is a lawyer and has a friend that specializing in medical cases. So some as I get medical records released I.have someone to help get someone to try to help his medical situation! I just hope when Derrick goes to see Manuel tomorrow they have what I need ready. So we can get him where he needs to be to get treatment. Thanks all!

We do have somes excellent
We do have somes excellent thoracic surgeons in the Atlanta area. My doctor is at Piedmont hospital in atl. He is a 35 yr. thoracic surgeon. Also Emory has a cancer center and some very good thoracic drs.I can't understand why a dr. would have ever operated on him with out proper testing and definately if this is not the drs. field.
It sounds like Manuel is fortunate to have your husband as a friend. Good luck--My prayers are with you,
Sandra