Any ladies out there with EC?

Yes there are women who write on this forum who have EC

Hello “Judemo”

Sad to say but there are women on this link that have Esophageal Cancer.  Sometimes the husbands are writing in because they are acting as “caregiver.”  But for informational purposes, I thought I would send you one link so that you could see the proportion of women to men who present with Esophageal Cancer.  This is an excellent site that covers all aspects of EC, but I just chose to list one portion.  When you access this site, you can move on to other parts that may answer more of your questions. 

Perhaps some of the women who have EC will answer you, if you are looking to speak with one special female patient.  I write here on behalf of my husband, William Marshall, who is a 15-year survivor of Esophageal Cancer, Stage III.  I myself am a Stage IV Ovarian Cancer patient presently undergoing a chemotherapy series of Carboplatin and Paclitaxel (Taxol). 

1.      https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/esophageal-cancer/statistics

“Esophageal Cancer: Statistics

Approved by the Cancer.Net Editorial Board, 12/2016

ON THIS PAGE: You will find information about the number of people who are diagnosed with esophageal cancer each year. You will also read general information on surviving the disease. Remember, survival rates depend on several factors. Use the menu to see other pages.

This year, an estimated 17,290 adults (13,480 men and 3,810 women) in the United States will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer. The disease accounts for 1% of cancers diagnosed in the United States. It is diagnosed more often in other parts of the world.

It is estimated that 15,850 deaths (12,850 men and 3,000 women) from this disease will occur this year. Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cause of cancer death among men.

The 5-year survival rate tells you what percent of people live at least 5 years after the cancer is found. Percent means how many out of 100. The 5-year survival rate for people with esophageal cancer is 19%. 

However, survival rates depend on several factors, including the stage of the cancer when it is first diagnosed. The 5-year survival rate of people with cancer located only in the esophagus is 43%. The 5-year survival rate for those with disease that has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or the regional lymph nodes is 23%. If it has spread to distant parts of the body, the survival rate is 5%.

It is important to remember that statistics on the survival rates for people with esophageal cancer are an estimate. The estimate comes from annual data based on the number of people with this cancer in the United States. Also, experts measure the survival statistics every 5 years. So the estimate may not show the results of better diagnosis or treatment available for less than 5 years. People should talk with their doctor if they have any questions about this information. Learn more about understanding statistics.

Statistics adapted from the American Cancer Society's (ACS) publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2018, and the ACS website.”

__________________________________________End of reference ______________________

Hello again "Judemo"

First let me thank “Pam” and “ronniegb” for answering you so quickly.  

So many of us here found out about our diagnosis of Esophageal Cancer when we went to the doctor for a seemingly different reason.  Pam went for chest pains and although that is frightening, because we usually think, “Can I be having a heart attack?” she found out the next day it was Esophageal Cancer.  “Ronnie” had difficulty swallowing. 

My husband and I went to the doctor because of a persistent hiccup when he first began to take a bite of food.  After that the hiccup was gone—no difficulty in swallowing—no other symptoms that we suspected that something was amiss.  I just noticed that it was habitual.  Not until a couple of months later did I say, “We need to go to our doctor and see what’s wrong with you.”  Our doctor scheduled an endoscopy for us.  Two days later the Gastroenterologist called us on the phone at home.  I answered.  The voice on the other end said, “Mrs. Marshall, I do wish you had stayed around yesterday.  I needed to talk with you.  Your husband has CANCER.” 

So one never knows what “little” difficulty or annoying pain may actually be cancer.  If you have read many of the stories here, you will find that many of them had NO symptoms, while a great many had trouble swallowing or tolerated heartburn and acid reflux.  Some had gone to their regular doctor who had in turn prescribed some acid reducer—perhaps the purple pill NEXIUM.  It seems like this is the procedure all too many doctors follow.  They need to be brought up to date about the alarming increase in Esophageal Cancer patients.  Why isn’t it standard practice for a doctor to order an endoscopy for patients who come in with frequent heartburn or acid reflux?  Obviously it is not.  I thank God our regular GP was an Internist, who said immediately, “It’s something of a gastric nature and you need an endoscopy.”  We had never even heard of an endoscopy, much less Esophageal Cancer!  Doctors should know by now that the best and safest first step is to order an endoscopy for their patients, and then let the results dictate follow-up from that point.

So now “Judemo”—if you’ve read many of my postings, you will note that I don’t charge anything for my advice!  But I consider it a privilege to be able to urge you to NOT put up with this discomfort a day longer than you have to.  If this were me, I would call the appropriate doctor tomorrow.  It’s obvious that the Omeprazole has not solved the problem.  Moreover, the directions say to call your doctor if after two weeks or so, if symptoms are still present.  Oddly enough, many who ultimately are diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer have been on a NEXIUM regimen for years.  In fact, I have an article written back in 2011, by Dr. Blair Jobe of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (one of the top hospitals for treating Esophageal Cancer) wherein he writes that NEXIUM can mask the symptoms of Esophageal Cancer, and that many patients are presenting with Stage IV EC because of prolonged use.

And may I say here, that the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is one of the top hospitals in the country who specializes in treating Esophageal Cancer patients.  That is where my husband went for his “Ivor Lewis MINIMALLY INVASIVE ESOPHAGECTOMY” back in 2003.  There Dr. James D. Luketich pioneered the first totally laparoscopic procedure to remove the cancerous Esophagus in the mid-90s.  Today the MIE is the surgery of choice.  There are multiple advantages to having a laparoscopic procedure with "Band-aid size cuts" instead of an “OPEN” surgery with massive incisions. But that is not the purpose of today’s discussion.

So let me say, in one sense I don’t want to scare you, and in another sense, I do.  I want you to understand that “soon” should be “as soon as possible.”  If I were you, I would put “make appointment with Gastroenterologist” at the very top of my “bucket list!”  Should it turn out to be as serious as it just might be, we can help you to avoid pitfalls along the way.  We are not a group of “the blind leading the blind” here.  We’ve “been there—done that” when it comes to cancer.  One good “side effect” of being a cancer patient is that we can give of ourselves to be a light to others along the way.  And it is especially comforting to hear from “survivors” because this is a major cancer.  The earlier the stage, the better the chances are for survival. 

Now we sincerely hope the symptoms you describe do not turn out to be cancer.  But quite naturally, we all will want you to let us know how your appointment with the Gastroenterologist went. Often my husband and I say, “We’re just 2 beggars telling another beggar where to find a piece of bread.” There are others here as well, who spend their time “watching over this site” because of their personal desire to help by sharing their own experiences and lessons they learned along the way. 

Love & prayers,

Loretta

__________________________________________________________________ 

1.      http://www.post-gazette.com/home/2011/08/01/Heartburn-meds-tied-to-cancer/stories/201108010183

David TempletonPittsburgh Post-Gazette

 “Heartburn meds tied to cancer

Popular drugs may mask risk for disease…

Drugs such as Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid that control production of stomach acid and treat heartburn, reflux, peptic ulcers and related conditions are some of the most popular medications on the market.

But long-term use of these drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors, can have unexpected consequences, a new study shows.

Blair A. Jobe and his research team at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine say the severity of symptoms for GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease, has an inverse relationship with the presence of Barrett's esophagus, a precursor to a lethal form of esophageal cancer known as adenocarcinoma.

The concern is that good symptom control does not reduce cancer risk but actually increases it.

The study, published online by the journal Archives of Surgery, also raises questions whether proton pump inhibitors might cause the cancer, whose incidence per million has risen six-fold from 1975 to 2001, a time when PPIs came on the market with increasing use. It's the fastest growing cancer in the nation, outpacing melanoma, breast and prostate cancers.

In the Pitt study, patients taking PPIs who reported no severe GERD symptoms had significantly higher odds of having esophageal cancer as compared with medically treat patients who reported severe symptoms.

This finding, it says, may explain the failure of current screening procedures that dictate when primary endoscopic examinations are done. Those exams that involve a scope to inspect the esophagus usually are prescribed based on symptom severity. But Dr. Jobe said only 5 percent of patients who develop esophageal adenocarcinoma are detected by screening efforts, with the remaining 95 percent having symptoms related to a more advanced and less curable cancer stage…”

______________________________________________________________ 

2.     https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=hiatal+hernia+symptoms&view=detail&mid=36682B04CFFC5025395736682B04CFFC50253957&FORM=VIRE

 · 8/14/2017 -  HD -  by Buck Parker, M.D.

 Here Dr. Parker explains the different types of Hiatal Hernias.  It will help you to understand how acid reflux happens.

_______________________________________End of reference_______________________________

pjcb831 said:

I'm a woman that had EC

Hi, my name is Pam and I had EC.  I was diagnosed August 2015.  Went through radiation and chemo treatments.  Had surgery April 2016.  I was having chest pains, went to ER.  Heart was fine, was scheduled for the scope.  Found out next day it was EC.  I always felt when I ate things would get stuck right below my neck.  This blogging thing is all new to me.  If you have anymore specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them.  I'm just not sure how much to type and what to type.

 

  

Hi Pam, I was diagnose with EC on April 9, my surgeon thinks stage 2 or possibly 3. just finished 6 weeks of chemotherapy & 23 weeks of radiation. Enjoying a break from doctors while I can,getting tired of the blood tests. I have been going non stop since I was diagnosed, really wish I was given the time to process that I have cancer.  I dont know what to expect in the next few weeks, would welcome any feedback.