Update, good news

kbdarnall

Today, my husband (age 72) had another clean CT scan. Last December 6, 2017, endoscopy showed a "fumigating bleeding 5 cm mass of malignant appearance in the GE junction. He was staged T3,N0,M0 (Stage IIb). Today, 18 months after diagnosis, my husband appears to be free of cancer. He didn't undergo "curative" surgery.

Radiation/chemotherapy made him very sick. He got "extra" doses of radiation in effort to avoid surgery. 1 day before final dose (30th), my husband was hospitalized for "sepsis." Later, the diagnosis was "radiation pneumonitis." He was on mechanical respiration 5 days in ICU, then quite weak after he was weaned off the machine. More days in the hospital, then 2 weeks in skilled nursing care. Arrived home March 2018, St. Patrick's Day.

Next CT in October. Endoscopy exam this summer.  

Residual problems are minor. Esophageal sphinter is thick (from radiation treatment), so it doesn't close properly. This causes frequent burping from air being pulled into the stomach. Driving on a bumpy road causes lots of burps. (We laugh.) Actually, the main health issues is controlling the stomach acid. Lots of heartburn. GI specialist will help sort this out. These problems are minor. My husband is back to normal diet and normal exercise. We feel extremely blessed. We are thrilled by today's good news. 

Deathorglory

Awesome News

Hello,

That's awesome news.  So glad your husband is doing so well.  And the side effects seem like fairly common ones.  There is a price to be paid to beat cancer, frequently.  For the acid/heartburn, I'd suggest asking the gastroenterologist about reglan and gaviscon.  Just a thought.  

Best Wishes,

Ed

t4sm5la4r

Congrats on the great news!

While I'm sure it's been a harrowing scary road, it's good to hear that things are much improved for your husband!