Cryotherapy

kitten0385 said:

Shelly,

Welcome to the site!! I have been through radiation, and came through with no complications, but I don't have any experience with cytotherapy, so I can't help you in that regard. Hopefully someone on the site will have more input on that subject. A cancer diagnosis is hard in itself to get through, but you and your family can get through this. I was diagnosed when I was 23, underwent an esophajectomy right away as the scans did not show how large the tumor actually was, so after surgery I was told I was a stage 3...if they would have known this I would have done pre-op chemo, instead I did post-op chemo/radiaiton. My scans at the end of May looked good, as of last week my cancer is back in the fluid surrounding my organs, but not attached to my organs yet, so we started chemo again right away. Cancer can be a long and bumpy road, but with family, friends, and online support, you and your family will get through this. Please chat anytime, since I am off work again due to my treatments I will be around. It's very nice to "meet" you.

Cathy

aunti_m said:

Hi Shelly
Sorry to hear about your husbands dx. I saw this post back from Aug and seems we are in a similar place. My husband too has esophageal cancer, his is stage iv mets to distant lymph nodes, inoperable at this point. We have scans scheduled for Oct 26th. We also have 2 children, ages 5 and 9. The hardest thing for me is the children. They are so young and it makes me very sad. We have told them both about his cancer back in May when he was dx. They kept asking why the phone keeps ringing and why is everyone so sad. We told them their dad is very sick and the doctors are going to try very hard to make him better, but that it's a very hard disease to get rid of and he may get very, very sick and not get better. We told them we need to pray for him everyday. I was blown away by what my just turned 5year old son had to say. He looked right at his dad and said in the calmest voice ever, "If you die, you'll be o.k. because you'll be with God then." I couldn't believe it but he was right, it will be o.k. no matter what, God will help us through. My daughter has a harder time saying what's on her mind. She began telling her friends at school immediately, I told her to explain to her friends that her dad has cancer he is not contagious, she looked at me and said "I already told them that." So smart they are. Anyway I just wanted to share my story with someone who was in a similar circumstance. The children are a blessing to us, they live in the moment which helps my husband and I to be there too. There's no thinking what might happen tomorrow, tomorrow could be 5 years away for my 5 year old. It's all about today, and today I have my husband and my kids and it's a good day, I'm going to try really hard not to worry about tomorrow.
Take care

mumphy said:

Hi Shelly,
Shelly,

I don't know if we have met or not it is so hard to keep track. I read you first post and
was wondering if you husband had his surgery yet. I think that I must have had something going on when you first posted. Sorry that I didn't introduce myself sooner.

Compared to other sites this is rather small because EC is not very prevalent so there are less people posting, so everyone of us get to know each other quickly.

God Bless.
Kath

Betty in Vegas said:

Wow, that is interesting.
From what I have read, cryo is usually done on stage 0-1...stage III is generally radiation. Are you at a major cancer center?

Have you looked into proton radiation at all? It is much easier to handle and does not hit all the other organs--it pinpoints only where the tumor is. Therefore, less problems with lungs, heart, etc being hit by unwanted radiation.

Sorry to hear about the dx...but it is good to be among friends. My hubby is 45 (just turned 45) and we have kids at home, too, so I totally get what you are saying.