so far so good
Comments
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Welcome reed0427
Welcome aboard the EC train or rollercoaster or whatever you want to call it. Things sounds very positive for you and I'm so happy for that!
What type of surgery did you have? The THE, Ivor Lewis or MIE or another? Just curious, I'm starting to track the different stages, chemo and radiation treatments, as well as surgeries and where the surgery was performed and doctor if information if provided.
My husband Don, was diagnosed Stage 3, T3N1or2M0 on 11-21-2011. Treatment began 1-4-2012 with 28 radiations via tomotherapy and 5 weeks of IV chemo of carbo and taxol. He has done rather well with the treatments and will have the THE surgery on March 22, 2012, at University of Michigan Hospital by Dr. Reddy.
So glad you joined us and hopefully, you will become a regular poster here to help answer questions the newbies will have.
Hugs to you,
Judy0 -
Judy, I had THE at theJReed said:Welcome reed0427
Welcome aboard the EC train or rollercoaster or whatever you want to call it. Things sounds very positive for you and I'm so happy for that!
What type of surgery did you have? The THE, Ivor Lewis or MIE or another? Just curious, I'm starting to track the different stages, chemo and radiation treatments, as well as surgeries and where the surgery was performed and doctor if information if provided.
My husband Don, was diagnosed Stage 3, T3N1or2M0 on 11-21-2011. Treatment began 1-4-2012 with 28 radiations via tomotherapy and 5 weeks of IV chemo of carbo and taxol. He has done rather well with the treatments and will have the THE surgery on March 22, 2012, at University of Michigan Hospital by Dr. Reddy.
So glad you joined us and hopefully, you will become a regular poster here to help answer questions the newbies will have.
Hugs to you,
Judy
Judy, I had THE at the University of Washington with a surgeon trained at the University of Michigan, Dr. Micheal Mulligan. I am very happy with the results of my surgery and the very quick recovery I'm experiencing. Thought you might want to add this to your tracking record of surgeries performed, where, and doctor.
Best wishes for Don's upcoming surgery. He and you as well as the surgeons will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Dave0 -
Congratulations!!
Welcome to
Congratulations!!
Welcome to the group. We sound very similar, I had Dr Meyer for surgeon also and have been very pleased with results.
Richard (Rick) Watson
Neoga, Illinois
DX – 0411
EC – T2N2M0
Chemo – Cisplatin, four treatments
5FU, four treatments, five days times 24 hours each time
MIE – 083111
Barnes Hospital, St Louis
Dr Brian Meyer
NED0 -
Thank you Davecaptdave said:Judy, I had THE at the
Judy, I had THE at the University of Washington with a surgeon trained at the University of Michigan, Dr. Micheal Mulligan. I am very happy with the results of my surgery and the very quick recovery I'm experiencing. Thought you might want to add this to your tracking record of surgeries performed, where, and doctor.
Best wishes for Don's upcoming surgery. He and you as well as the surgeons will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Dave
Thank you so much! Love to read this and I can't wait to show Don. I am so glad you are doing so well - we can't help but be encouraged when we read of others who have gone through the process and are doing well. I have you on my 'tracking list' but I haven't found your diagnosis date or stage and because I'm curious - did you do chemo and rads prior to your surgery? I hope the docs get our buddy Jerry Wright back on track - I see that you and Jerry both are affliated with Univ of Washington.
Thank you for coming to this site and posting - from our personal experience, the members on this site have been wonderful and extremely helpful to us - so thank you for being part of that.
Judy & Don0 -
Judy, I was diagnosed onJReed said:Thank you Dave
Thank you so much! Love to read this and I can't wait to show Don. I am so glad you are doing so well - we can't help but be encouraged when we read of others who have gone through the process and are doing well. I have you on my 'tracking list' but I haven't found your diagnosis date or stage and because I'm curious - did you do chemo and rads prior to your surgery? I hope the docs get our buddy Jerry Wright back on track - I see that you and Jerry both are affliated with Univ of Washington.
Thank you for coming to this site and posting - from our personal experience, the members on this site have been wonderful and extremely helpful to us - so thank you for being part of that.
Judy & Don
Judy, I was diagnosed on 11/23/2011 or at least that's when the doctor told me the diagnosis. anyway, I was in a barrets research program through the UW and the Fred Hutch here in Seattle. As a result of having a very long segment of Barrets (10 centimeters) and having had high grade displacia for several years I was being scoped every six months. Lucky for me that I was being scoped so frequently in that the doctor found my cancer VERY, VERY early. So early in fact that my doctor said an oncologist would even give it stage 1 yet. Other doctors labeled it stage 1 so im not really what stage it should be called. So early in fact that I needed no treatment prior to surgery and they were unable to find any cancer in the pathology of the esophagus post surgery. For me this is the best possible outcome. I was very fortunate to have a great team from the study looking out for me and guiding me through the process. Of course the surgical team is I think second to none. I hope this is the information you were looking for.
Please keep me up to date on Don. One thing that my surgeon and doctors all said that helped e with my recovery was a positive attitude and having a goal of recovery to work for. When they told me to walk three laps three times a day around the nurses station in ICU the day after surgery i did four or five laps three times a day. Those are the intangibles that make a huge difference in how quickly and well recovery goes.
Any thing I can for you and Don just ask.
Dave0 -
Frequent scopescaptdave said:Judy, I was diagnosed on
Judy, I was diagnosed on 11/23/2011 or at least that's when the doctor told me the diagnosis. anyway, I was in a barrets research program through the UW and the Fred Hutch here in Seattle. As a result of having a very long segment of Barrets (10 centimeters) and having had high grade displacia for several years I was being scoped every six months. Lucky for me that I was being scoped so frequently in that the doctor found my cancer VERY, VERY early. So early in fact that my doctor said an oncologist would even give it stage 1 yet. Other doctors labeled it stage 1 so im not really what stage it should be called. So early in fact that I needed no treatment prior to surgery and they were unable to find any cancer in the pathology of the esophagus post surgery. For me this is the best possible outcome. I was very fortunate to have a great team from the study looking out for me and guiding me through the process. Of course the surgical team is I think second to none. I hope this is the information you were looking for.
Please keep me up to date on Don. One thing that my surgeon and doctors all said that helped e with my recovery was a positive attitude and having a goal of recovery to work for. When they told me to walk three laps three times a day around the nurses station in ICU the day after surgery i did four or five laps three times a day. Those are the intangibles that make a huge difference in how quickly and well recovery goes.
Any thing I can for you and Don just ask.
Dave
Dave:
I have a similar story, in that I'd had Barretts for years and was being scoped every 3 years (that's all my insurance would pay for), so when I was diagnosed the cancer was, according to my surgeon, "barely more than microscopic" and wasn't yet a discernable tumor. At first the GI doc thought it was just an ulcerated area at the bottom of my esophagus, maybe caused by the Omeprazole, but alas the path reports said otherwise. When the surgeon, who has done hundreds of esophagectomies, saw the EUS report he asked me how my local GI doc had even found it. Still, of course the only "cure" for EC is to cut it out, so here we both are. Ever since I was diagnosed I've encouraged anyone who says the've had indigestion and/or reflux to insist on an endoscope. As far as I know it's the only way to diagnose this beast before you're having trouble swallowing and are already Stage 3 or 4.
I, too, was up and walking the day after the surgery (only a couple of shuffling laps across my ICU room and back), and my wife and the nurses had me up and walking laps around the floor several times a day as soon as I was in my room on the Thoracic Surgery floor. As soon as I got home my wife had me out at least 3 times a day walking around the neighborhood, and after a couple of weeks we were taking hour-long walks (slow walks, mind you) in the woods. I do inspection and audit work on ships, which involves a lot of climbing up and down ladders and steep stairways, so it was 3 months before I went back to work. But I’m convinced it would have been a lot longer if I hadn’t been walking as much as I could as soon as I could after the surgery.
It’s easy to feel sorry for ourselves, and in my case it was occasionally a struggle to not feel sorry for myself (why me?), but with a firm and loving caregiver and with achievable goals supported by a good medical team, I got past that and am back on my feet. I started out at 198 lbs and now I have to work to maintain 175, but it’s worth it!
Bob
T1aN0M0
dx 8/3/11
MIE 9/23/110 -
Bob, wow! seems like weBobHaze said:Frequent scopes
Dave:
I have a similar story, in that I'd had Barretts for years and was being scoped every 3 years (that's all my insurance would pay for), so when I was diagnosed the cancer was, according to my surgeon, "barely more than microscopic" and wasn't yet a discernable tumor. At first the GI doc thought it was just an ulcerated area at the bottom of my esophagus, maybe caused by the Omeprazole, but alas the path reports said otherwise. When the surgeon, who has done hundreds of esophagectomies, saw the EUS report he asked me how my local GI doc had even found it. Still, of course the only "cure" for EC is to cut it out, so here we both are. Ever since I was diagnosed I've encouraged anyone who says the've had indigestion and/or reflux to insist on an endoscope. As far as I know it's the only way to diagnose this beast before you're having trouble swallowing and are already Stage 3 or 4.
I, too, was up and walking the day after the surgery (only a couple of shuffling laps across my ICU room and back), and my wife and the nurses had me up and walking laps around the floor several times a day as soon as I was in my room on the Thoracic Surgery floor. As soon as I got home my wife had me out at least 3 times a day walking around the neighborhood, and after a couple of weeks we were taking hour-long walks (slow walks, mind you) in the woods. I do inspection and audit work on ships, which involves a lot of climbing up and down ladders and steep stairways, so it was 3 months before I went back to work. But I’m convinced it would have been a lot longer if I hadn’t been walking as much as I could as soon as I could after the surgery.
It’s easy to feel sorry for ourselves, and in my case it was occasionally a struggle to not feel sorry for myself (why me?), but with a firm and loving caregiver and with achievable goals supported by a good medical team, I got past that and am back on my feet. I started out at 198 lbs and now I have to work to maintain 175, but it’s worth it!
Bob
T1aN0M0
dx 8/3/11
MIE 9/23/11
Bob, wow! seems like we have a lot of things in common. One of the things that my surgeon required was for me to walk two miles a day every day before surgery. I was already doing my elliptical for 30 minutes a day at a pace of 3.5 miles. He also required the daily use of the breathing machine to build up lung capacity. I'm sure that these two exercise regimens helped greatly with my recovery. I also work in the maritime industry as a Captain/pilot and know what you mean about the rigors of the job as well as an ever moving, sometimes violently work environment. I have also lost weight but, am at what my ideal weight should be so I'm grateful for that. I hope to be back to work two months to the day after my surgery, will find out later today if I get the go ahead then just wait for Coast Guard to clear me.
Lets keep in touch. continued good health and rember, we are the lucky one here!
Dave
P.S. where did you find your inflatable wedge?0 -
Inflatable wedgecaptdave said:Bob, wow! seems like we
Bob, wow! seems like we have a lot of things in common. One of the things that my surgeon required was for me to walk two miles a day every day before surgery. I was already doing my elliptical for 30 minutes a day at a pace of 3.5 miles. He also required the daily use of the breathing machine to build up lung capacity. I'm sure that these two exercise regimens helped greatly with my recovery. I also work in the maritime industry as a Captain/pilot and know what you mean about the rigors of the job as well as an ever moving, sometimes violently work environment. I have also lost weight but, am at what my ideal weight should be so I'm grateful for that. I hope to be back to work two months to the day after my surgery, will find out later today if I get the go ahead then just wait for Coast Guard to clear me.
Lets keep in touch. continued good health and rember, we are the lucky one here!
Dave
P.S. where did you find your inflatable wedge?
Dave:
I found the inflatable wedge pillow at the Comfort Store (http://sitincomfort.com/wedgepillow.html). Don't forget to order the hand pump - I did, and had to pay shipping twice when I sent a 2nd order for the pump! It's not as comfortable as the wedge pillow I use at home, but it's better than motel pillows, and it's definitely better than the piss-poor pillows the Indians give me on some of the tankers I'm on! Like much of our "new" lives, it took some trial & error for me to find what's comfortable for me with the inflatable wedge pillow, and for myself I only inflate it about half way or it's actually too firm and is uncomfortable on my back. But with that in mind and a pillow on top of it, I sleep like a baby and, most importantly, at a reflux-proof angle!
Let us know if you get one and how it works for you.
Bob
T1aN0M0
dx 8/3/11
MIE 9/23/11 at Massachusetts General Hospital0 -
Pulminary embolism
Could you tell me about the PE treatement?
I started chemo and developed blood clot in left leg.
Started w/ blood thinners (hepren).Had bleeder in left hip after two days.
Taken off blood thinners. Had filter and stent installed.
But before this all started,I was short of breath and getting worst.CT scan
revealed PE.Now I can't walk two ft.without total exhaustion. Started on
Lovenex on 2/28. I was told that this and the chemo and time would clear up the PE.
No improvement so far. How was your PE cleared up?
Thanks,
SFic0
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