Restaged today and questions regarding pro's and cons of Surgery..

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JohnnyW
JohnnyW Member Posts: 23
edited March 2014 in Esophageal Cancer #1
I had posted on here about my cancer early last month..At that time I was staged a 3A at another medical center but wanted to get another opinion..I waited 3 weeks to get into UCSF and was worried about the time lag.Well that wait was worth it,I had a PET/CT yesterday and the oncologist phoned today and said the lymph nodes that showed concern after my first CAT scan aren't lighting up anymore and I was restaged to a 2B...Right now I'm getting a port implanted next week and meeting with the radiologist for a consultation and schedule Monday.The schedule is set to start on the 26th with 5 weeks of F5U and Cisplatin on the first and last week...I also met with the Chief Surgeon today who does the MIE procedure and he wants to do it a month after the chemo..I still have reservations about the surgery after reading many posts,I'm just wondering if the rehab is worth it..The surgeon says that in my case a good outcome could be a possibility with some good years ahead of me..I'm just not sure though..Any thoughts are appreciated..I'm a 61 year old with type 2 diabetes and my tumor is a Andenocarcinoma at the GE junction.I am also by myself with no family here in the area so I see a lot of problems with no help..The doctor assures me that I will be able to drive myself to treatment but I'm not so sure.Has anyone driven to get radiation on a daily basis without problems.?Any insight and help will be greatly appreciated.Thanks to everyone and especially William for the post on this forum.

John

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  • MAE66
    MAE66 Member Posts: 66
    #2
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    I don't know about the
    I don't know about the surgery part, but I can tell you that my husband had 5 weeks of radiation (7:00am appts.) and drove the entire time without any problems. He was also on the 5FU at the same time and working.

    Susan
  • Trish_from_Pittsburgh
    Trish_from_Pittsburgh Member Posts: 56
    #3
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    You'll be OK
    John,

    My husband was 56 years old when he had his radiation and chemo. He continued to work through it all. He scheduled his radiation treatments so he could stop at the hospital on his way home from work to get radiated. I went to all his chemo appts. with him, but he drove.

    Radiation shouldn't make you sick, just tired. So you'll be OK. Just plan some afternoon naps....zzz

    What great news on your restaging!

    Keep us informed of how you are doing.

    Lots of prayers coming your way!

    Trish
  • Donna70
    Donna70 Member Posts: 852 Member
    #4
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    surgery
    Hi John,
    If the surgery gives you many more years it is worth it. I was able to drive myself to most of my radiation but our drs here hospitalize you for the chemo of 5 FU and Cisplatin. I was a diabetic too but my diabetes is not active after losing so much weight. I would say it is great so many people could drive to their treatments but you can't tell how you will react and might need a friend or a neighbor to help sometimes. I got sick and very weak so could not drive all the time. Good luck on hearing the downgrading. that is wonderful!!good luck and prayers always!!
    Donna70
  • JohnnyW
    JohnnyW Member Posts: 23
    #5
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    Donna70 said:

    surgery
    Hi John,
    If the surgery gives you many more years it is worth it. I was able to drive myself to most of my radiation but our drs here hospitalize you for the chemo of 5 FU and Cisplatin. I was a diabetic too but my diabetes is not active after losing so much weight. I would say it is great so many people could drive to their treatments but you can't tell how you will react and might need a friend or a neighbor to help sometimes. I got sick and very weak so could not drive all the time. Good luck on hearing the downgrading. that is wonderful!!good luck and prayers always!!
    Donna70

    Thanks to everyone for the
    Thanks to everyone for the comments so far,it is greatly appreciated.

    John
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #6
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    JohnnyW said:

    Thanks to everyone for the
    Thanks to everyone for the comments so far,it is greatly appreciated.

    John

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • JohnnyW
    JohnnyW Member Posts: 23
    #7
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    unknown said:

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator

    Thanks so much for setting
    Thanks so much for setting me straight William.I know that I have a long road ahead of me and who knows what lies ahead..My biggest concern is that I was a heavy smoker for all my adult life but have quit recently,that alone is my major concern about surgery,the Surgeon says it shouldn't be a problem..Being an insulin dependent diabetic also causes me concern.On a different note I have spent the last 3 weeks gearing up for Chemo and radiation..I have stocked up on Benocalorie,VHC and cases of ensure plus,I want to give myself an opportunity to come out of Chemo and Radiation losing as little weight as possible,I know that weight loss is inevitable but I want to keep it to a minimum..Thank you for the guidance.

    John
  • CynR
    CynR Member Posts: 9
    #8
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    UCSF
    Hi, JohnnyW, My friend Tyler finally has an appointment scheduled at UCSF on 4/19. He's T3N1, had radiation and is on his 4th round of chemo with FU and cisplatin. Since he's currently being treated in a small town, he wants to at least have a consult with a major center and see if their assessment/treatment is the same as the one he's had so far. And as you know, it's not easy getting that appointment scheduled! He'll be seeing Dr. Andrew Ko. So I'm wondering if you can suggest any questions or preparation for this first visit? Did you simply show up with your records? I have read many of William Marshall's wonderfully thorough posts and am happy to hear that UCSF does MIE, should that become an option.
    Thank you!
  • JohnnyW
    JohnnyW Member Posts: 23
    #9
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    CynR said:

    UCSF
    Hi, JohnnyW, My friend Tyler finally has an appointment scheduled at UCSF on 4/19. He's T3N1, had radiation and is on his 4th round of chemo with FU and cisplatin. Since he's currently being treated in a small town, he wants to at least have a consult with a major center and see if their assessment/treatment is the same as the one he's had so far. And as you know, it's not easy getting that appointment scheduled! He'll be seeing Dr. Andrew Ko. So I'm wondering if you can suggest any questions or preparation for this first visit? Did you simply show up with your records? I have read many of William Marshall's wonderfully thorough posts and am happy to hear that UCSF does MIE, should that become an option.
    Thank you!

    Cyn:
    UCSF had a certain
    Cyn:

    UCSF had a certain protocol for setting up an appointment,at least in my case..I had to wait well over 3 weeks for my first appointment.They emailed me about a 20 page document with forms to fill out and a few pages of instructions..Among other things they wanted the original biopsy slides,a CD of my barium swallow and cat scan along with pictures from my endoscopy and ultrasound,all of which were done at Mills in Burlingame ca..They are very thorough,I also had to have the gastro Doctor fax over all my medical records which they also wanted..When I had my first appointment with Dr. Robin Kelley she had a good idea of where I was at from looking at the records and proceeded from there,she has also phoned me a couple of times to keep me updated,and then again yesterday with the good news of my PET/CT scan..I had quite a few of the normal questions that anyone in our position would ask,Chemo drugs,side effects and on and on.. I met with their top surgeon Dr. Pierre Theodore yesterday and he had quite a bit to tell me including that it looked like surgery was a given with the new staging info...I think you will find that they are worth the wait as they are in the top 7 medical centers in the country..I wish you luck and will send my prayers up for you..

    John

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