Newbie

sal314
sal314 Member Posts: 599 Member
edited March 2014 in Esophageal Cancer #1
Hello All,

I'm new to this board. Looking for support as my father got diagnosed with stage IV EC with liver mets and extensive lymph involvement. He's 69 and in good shape other than the cancer. He was diagnosed March 13 of this year. He's gone through radiation and is currently on his 3rd round of chemo. He had scans last week and it showed that the lymph nodes have shrunk to normal size and the liver mets are virtually unnoticeable. The main tumor (3cm) is unchanged. Good thing I guess. At least it hasn't grown. And, there are no new signs of any new growths (yet).

I'm having such a hard time with his situation given he is such a private person and won't talk about any of this with anyone. He said he doesn't need any help and just wants to go on with his life like normal. He's depressed, getting more frail and most troublesome to me, doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ. I think I could handle all of this better if I knew where he was going when his earthly life is over! He know the message of the Good News, but after 20 years still hasn't turned his life over to God. I'm praying for God to use this cancer journey to draw him closer and for him to seek God in the midst. Prayers for him would be so appreciated. His name is Roger.

Thanks for listening. Just reading a couple of posts, I believe this is a great group to become a part of. I will pray for and support you all the best I can!

P.S.- I myself am a breast cancer survivor of 8.5 years! So the cancer thing isn't new. Just being on the otherside of it is. And I can tell you, it's MUCH easier to be a cancer patient, than to be a loved one of someone who's going through it. The feelings of helplessness is just awful!

Blessings to You All,
Sally

Comments

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #2
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #3
    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • sal314
    sal314 Member Posts: 599 Member
    #4
    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Dear Willian and
    Dear Willian and Loretta,

    Thank you so much for your reply! Wow...I don't even know what to say. Do you want another daughter? LOL.

    I can so clearly see God at work in this situation. Before I sat down at the computer tonight I got a phone call from a total stranger from a local support group for people with Down Syndrome (our 5 year old daughter Taylor has Down Syndrome) that we are a part of but not very active in. Anyway, to make a long story short (or shorter), I talked to this woman for over an hour and we got on the subject of cancer and she told me this amazing, miraculous story about her father who beat stage 4 colon cancer with multiple liver mets. She use to work in the nuclear medicine field at the same hospital I was treated at and knew my surgeon! She said the same thing...go get a second opinion. Her father went out to MD Anderson in Houston after making the rounds here in Illinois and not getting anyone to agree to do surgery on him. He was given less 9 to 12 months and it has now been almost 5 years! Needless to say, I called my mother the minute I hung up with "Stephanie" and told her this story!!

    She's going to talk with my Dad and discuss getting a second opinion. She is not happy with the way things are being communicated and delt with concerning him. My mom is a very no-nonsense, independant woman. She's also an ER nurse of 40 years, so she knows a little too much for her own good when it comes to my dad's diagnosis. Something just isn't sitting right. I feel it too. So, if she can't convince my Dad to get a second opinion, no one can! Anyway, it's so cool to see God working in the midst of our situation. Now if my Dad would only listen!

    I've been reading and researching all I can about EC and my brain is dizzy. What I find rather interesting is that my dad's main tumor is growing on the outside of his esophagus, close to the GE Junction. He is having no eating or swallowing issues or heartburn or reflux. I don't understand why they can't do proton therapy and or surgery to remove it. Especially since everything else has shrunk down to normal or is virtually unseen. It's all just kind of strange. My mother agrees. He was scheduled to have chemo today, but they had to cancel it because his blood counts where too low. I know it's not good to postpone treatment. I just hope they don't wait too long to get another opinion! If it were me, I'd be on that plane NOW!

    Oh, you wanted to know how he got diagnosed. That was a total God thing as well. He was playing golf in Mexico with is best friend at the end of Feb. and didn't eat much that morning. After their round of golf they went into a sauna. My Dad passed out and they had to wheel him out on a gurnee. He recovered quickly and chalked it up to not eating enough and dehydration. The entire week after he got home he had no energy and just felt weak. He made an appointment with his doctor who did some blood work. His Hemoglobin leve was like a 4!! They ran tests, gave him a blood transfusion and kept him overnight for observation. His hemoglobin went up for a bit, but then dropped again. So they thought he was bleeding out somewhere. They did that scope test (sorry, I don't know the technical name) which found a small bleeding mass. He later had a CT scan and they found the large mass on the outside. Had it not been for him fainting, he would have never known anything was wrong.

    Anyway...I'm getting much to winded here. Thank you so much for your kind words of encouragement and your Godly wisdom! I can tell already I really like you!:)

    Hope you had a grand time with your family.

    Blessings to you and I looke forward to chatting with you more!:)

    Sally
  • sandy1943
    sandy1943 Member Posts: 824
    #5
    When I was diagnosed In Nov.
    When I was diagnosed In Nov. 2007, I had never been so scared. That afternoon a friend called me and gave me a promise from God's word ' Isaih 41;13 "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee. Fear not, I will help thee." I have trusted Gods promise through out my treatment and when the journey has been hard I've found comfort in these words. I pray your Dad will accept God. I could not of made it without his love and other christians praying for me. I try not to ever miss an opportunity to tell what the Lord has done for me.
    Sandra
  • sal314
    sal314 Member Posts: 599 Member
    #6
    sandy1943 said:

    When I was diagnosed In Nov.
    When I was diagnosed In Nov. 2007, I had never been so scared. That afternoon a friend called me and gave me a promise from God's word ' Isaih 41;13 "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee. Fear not, I will help thee." I have trusted Gods promise through out my treatment and when the journey has been hard I've found comfort in these words. I pray your Dad will accept God. I could not of made it without his love and other christians praying for me. I try not to ever miss an opportunity to tell what the Lord has done for me.
    Sandra

    Thank you Sandra! I
    Thank you Sandra! I appreciate your prayers. Isaiah 41:13 is one of my all-time favorite versus as well. I lived off of it throughout my cancer journey as well as when my son was diagnosed with autism and my daughter was born with Down Syndrome! I know I would have never been able to get through lifes trials without God's promises and grace!!

    Blessings,
    Sally

Discussion Boards