Final prognosis from MD Anderson

siutis12

I received my final prognosis from MD Anderson (MDA) on Friday.  Many of you know my story,  former competitive powerlifter and bodybuilder struck down by the disease after being misdiagnosed by four doctors.  I have been adamantly opposed to surgery from day one due to the life long side effects and no promise of living or more importantly,  returning to normal life. God granted me mercy and extended my life due to prayers. I was at deaths door with the feeding tube,  unable to swallow my own spit for several weeks. Chemotherapy and the maximum amount of radiation therapy hit me hard with many long lasting side effects.  I am unwilling to further reduce my quality of life. This disease has robbed me of at least 50% of my energy and mental acuity.  But thanks be to God I am alive and eating solid food with no long scars or holes in my upper body beyond what was put there during the first surgery. 

I had a complete response to chemotherapy and radiation with a negative biopsy.  My doctors were not impressed. Only two of the eight expect me to be alive in two years. The consensus is 12 months and my medical oncologist opined 6 months with only four months of swallowing food.

MDA said that approximately 65% of patients initially receives, what appears to be a complete response to chemotherapy and radiation accompanied by a negative biopsy.  However, when surgery is performed, cancer is still present in the esophagus, microscopically speaking.  Several years ago MDA conducted a trial to ascertain if everyone who had a complete response needed surgery because of its complexity  (my word is brutality). Explaining the lethality of esophageal cancer and its resistance to traditional cancer treatments,  MDA was throwing everything at it, chemotherapy and radiation followed by surgery.  Surgery typically follows conventional treatment by 6-8 weeks. The trial involved salvage surgery.  Meaning that surgery was only performed if the disease manifested itself if there was a local failure.  Systematic failures (metastasis) are not helped by surgery.  

1,000 complete response patients with negative biopsy participated in the study. 350 experienced local failure and received surgery. 45% were alive in 5 years. 500 perished from local and systematic failure within 12 months. 150 men did not experience any recurrence and were considered cured. 

I pressed and the doctor opined that because of my stage and energy of my tumor I would not be one of the 15% and recommended  surgery immediately or intense monitoring with a salvage surgery if I experienced a local failure.  I respectfully declined both options because of my faith and quality of life issues. 

This is my last post. I am hoping to be one of the 15% but planning on being one of the 85%. To the degree that I am able,  I am going to live the last 12 months like it's my last year on the earth. I'm not going to wait until I start choking on food, coughing uncontrollably, wake up with intense bone pain or worse. 

May God Bless everyone of you.

 

annie4145

Bless you as well. I wish you

Bless you as well. I wish you the best in fighting this terrible disease, and trying to live to the fullest while doing so.