new here trying to get ready for the ride of a life time.

Jazzman77733 said:

Answer to your question.
1. Who is the doctor that "found it?" Dr. George Samuel,D.O.
2. How did he come to diagnose you with EC? Got piece of meat stuck in my throat. They had to go in and push it down or take it out I don’t which.
3. What kind of tests did he perform to confirm his findings? They performed an upper endoscopy
During the procedure he found the following.
Stricture of the middle third of the esophagus (dilation)
Grade 2 esophagitis in the gastroesophageal junction (biopsy)
Medium hiatal hernia
Then had a scan done.
4. What kind of doctor is he? Gastroenterology, Osteopathy
I will see my cancer DR. this coming Friday, I will knowmore about her then.
He did say he had a Patient with this age 70 that was worst then me and still living, don’t know how long ago or when.

Sorry for your diagnosis.
Sorry for your diagnosis. William is exactly correct in everything he says. You need to know your staging. Cleveland, Tennessee is a nice area. It is near Chattanooga, more importantly, it is near Atlanta. Atlanta has some well known hospitals and programs. You are about two hours from Atlanta. My husband and I travelled about an hour and a half one way for his treatment.

You did not mention if you have a support base. Sometimes it may be necessary to have a driver for even a short trip to downtown Cleveland. Further, there may be times that you will need assistance.

All of these answers and plans depend on your treatment plan based on your staging. Unless the oncologist you are seeing is familiar with esophageal cancer and has a treatment record of taking care of esophageal cancer patients, you may need to get her to work with an EC team at a major medical center.

I would suggest that you contact your local social service agencies regarding the upcoming treatment issues. Home health, respite care and planning for your son should be put in place. You, as well, may have need of their services. They may be able to assist you with VA.

My husband was 69 when diagnosed. He was first staged !!B possible III but when he had his surgery following a brutal chemo/radiation schedule that all trimodal treated EC patients face, he was staged IIA. (Yay!)

He is two years post-op and his last scan showed NED (no evidence of disease) We are very thankful. He is very active. Just has to remember to eat properly--which he still has a hard time doing. Loves to eat.

William and Paul as well as many others were stage III and are going strong. We pray they continue so.

If you learn you are Stage IV, there are many on this site who are dealing or have dealt with this diagnosis. It is hard and heart-wrenching. These wonderful people freely share the information they have. Once you get more information, please post as they can give you the benefit of their knowledge. Their knowledge is not to be disregarded. I have never seen a real member of this discussion group give bad advice.

Time is of the essence in getting information. William, I believe, always encourages a second opinion. Misdiagnosis and mis-staging can lead to such errors in treatment. So, try to find out as much as you can from your visit with your oncologist and get back on here and let us know.

Prayers to you and your family. Good luck. BMGky

Great Resources at this Site
This site will provide access to many great people with true life experience. They will be valuable to your journey. My sister is fighting this disease. Just a FYI> This cancer is on the Disability Compassionate Allowance which means if you apply for disability and have this disease you go the front of the line. You can work as long as your salary does not exceed certain levels. Of course no guarentees in this life, but it is worth vising a local office. Following is a link to the site. http://www.ssa.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm

God Bless you during this journey.

Suggestions
I would like to wish you the best. My mom had stage 4 when diagnosed. She started treatment, but stopped when too ill. Did not have surgery except for feeding tube. If I could make a suggestion as to what she said she would have done differently....start on a MACROBIOTIC diet right away. If she had done this sooner, I think she could have at least prolonged her time, possibly beat it. There is documented evidence online you can look up, but it is basically an eastern asian diet, no sugar, no dairy, no meat, except occassional fish. Lots of vegetables. It resets the body's Ph so that cancer is starved. Many times, western medicine tries to "fatten you up" by sugar feedings but sugar just feeds the cancer (that is why you must ingest so much sugar water before you take a PET scan for the cancer to show up.) It is not easy, but we do know of people that it worked for. Can even use in conjunction with a feeding tube if you get one, eat Miso soup through the tube. This is just the wisdom I learned from a loving mom and if I pass it on I will make her proud.

TerOH said:

Suggestions
I would like to wish you the best. My mom had stage 4 when diagnosed. She started treatment, but stopped when too ill. Did not have surgery except for feeding tube. If I could make a suggestion as to what she said she would have done differently....start on a MACROBIOTIC diet right away. If she had done this sooner, I think she could have at least prolonged her time, possibly beat it. There is documented evidence online you can look up, but it is basically an eastern asian diet, no sugar, no dairy, no meat, except occassional fish. Lots of vegetables. It resets the body's Ph so that cancer is starved. Many times, western medicine tries to "fatten you up" by sugar feedings but sugar just feeds the cancer (that is why you must ingest so much sugar water before you take a PET scan for the cancer to show up.) It is not easy, but we do know of people that it worked for. Can even use in conjunction with a feeding tube if you get one, eat Miso soup through the tube. This is just the wisdom I learned from a loving mom and if I pass it on I will make her proud.

I agree!
We have also done this diet for my dad. Nutrition is key to maintaining and even reversing some of the effects of cancer. We have eliminated sugar, stopped dairy, added protien to every meal and incorporated foods for his blood type in his diet. In conjunction with chemo, he has been doing very well, considering. Best of luck to you.

~Jayme

Dad Stage IV EC
DX 8/2010
Mets Liver, Blood and Bone

P.S. Unsweetened Almond Milk is a great altenative to dairy!

TerOH said:

Suggestions
I would like to wish you the best. My mom had stage 4 when diagnosed. She started treatment, but stopped when too ill. Did not have surgery except for feeding tube. If I could make a suggestion as to what she said she would have done differently....start on a MACROBIOTIC diet right away. If she had done this sooner, I think she could have at least prolonged her time, possibly beat it. There is documented evidence online you can look up, but it is basically an eastern asian diet, no sugar, no dairy, no meat, except occassional fish. Lots of vegetables. It resets the body's Ph so that cancer is starved. Many times, western medicine tries to "fatten you up" by sugar feedings but sugar just feeds the cancer (that is why you must ingest so much sugar water before you take a PET scan for the cancer to show up.) It is not easy, but we do know of people that it worked for. Can even use in conjunction with a feeding tube if you get one, eat Miso soup through the tube. This is just the wisdom I learned from a loving mom and if I pass it on I will make her proud.

foods
I am still confused with the foods... mo dairy products is that mean no organic yogurt, milk or meat? so u mean any kind os simple sugar that we eat daily from fruits such as blueberries strawberries watermelon grapes peaches plums and they are for on simple surgers and some complex from vegetables so no sugar at all which mean can you explain to me clearly im still confused....