PATHOLOGY REPORT AFTER SURGERY

I just received my husband's medical records from the hospital. Unfortunately, he did not survive, but I am hoping to help others and I will not give up until I get my answers from this hospital. My husband was diagnosed with esophageal cancer early this year. We were told T3 and N1+. He got through radiation, chemo, major surgery (Ivor Lewis resection), chyle leak complications etc. He was sent home to get stronger for chemo down the road but unfortunately he got weaker. The doctors/surgeons did not give us the details of the pathology report which was available a week after his surgery. I asked a medical student for the copy which was only a few days after he had to be readmitted on an emergency basis. This was almost 2 months since his initial surgery. He was readmitted, then two days later we were told it had spread through his blood to his bones. He passed away at home less than a week later. It is a shame because we would have done things differently had we known there was very little hope. Please make sure you drill these doctors/surgeons for pathology information, even if the patient is in the hospital with complications. The records stated he was staged at T3N3 and pathology showed multiple involved lymph nodes (16 out of 20) had demonstrated metastatic. We as patients and spouses, have the right to know what is going on, something this important should not have slipped through the cracks.