Esophageal Cancer- REAL LIFE STORIES

I'm so very sorry. I have a family member (husband's side) who died of it last year. It was a long drawn-out terrible battle for him.

I can't revisit his treatment with you - too hard to talk about it with the family members who were going through it with him. I think that you have to just talk to the oncologist and find out.

Personally, I would not want to go through what all this dear man went through. It prolonged his life, but I could not deal with the pain and suffering involved in it, to be honest.

Sending you all strength,
Dawn

My dad was dealing with esophageal cancer when I was pregnant with my 5 year old. He didn't want to worry me, so he kept me out of most of his symptoms and treatments, but I do know they ended up doing surgery to remove part of his esophagus, moving his stomach higher into his chest. He lost a lot of weight there for a while, and had to be very careful about what he ate, but he's managed to gain back most of the weight he lost (that he didn't necessarily need to gain back, if you know what I mean) and he is living a normal life right now, working, helping his wife with their ducks, dogs, cats and horses, and singing kareoke on the weekends. He still gets checked on a regular basis, but so far has managed to remain cancer free.

Your dad and family definately have a hard road ahead, so you all will be in my thoughts and prayers. Please keep us updated.

My stepfather died from esophageal cancer.
It's nickname is "The Beast" because it is aggressive and usually goes undetected until later stages (usually 3 or 4) where the patient has physical issues with swallowing, etc.
My stepfather was losing weight--he thought it was because he was really watching, walking and eating VERY healthy--only fish, chicken, veggies & fruit. He was also told to take OTC meds for the reflux, etc.

He was officially diagnosed in Feb, (when he couldn't swallow--literally, which happened VERY quick--like in 1-2 days, and he was gone by December of that same year.

He was admitted and a mesh tube was placed in his esophagus so that he could manage a liquid soft diet until they could get him to surgery and a feeding tube.

His surgeon was a "god"...a very talented & well respected thoracic surgeon that removed the cancerous part of his esophagus and reattached it, etc. It was a brutal, almost barbaric surgery & recovery, which required a feeding tube for a time, but a success! We exhaled.

His oncologist recommended follow up chemo because O. lymph node (in his neck) tested positive for cancer. He battled through the chemo which was no picnic but he accomplished it.

By July, he was well enough that we all went to the beach for a nice vacation, and we were amazed at how good he felt and how well he was able to eat/swallow, etc!

In August, he had a follow up pet scan and the esophageal cancer had metastasized to his liver. Not good. He went through some chemo but it was not effective.

I will never forget what my neighbor (an RN) said when I said he was going to have chemo following the surgery--she said "Oh....ok....it's just that it seems like chemo can stir things up in other areas...." Those words still echo in my mind! But I'm sure when you're the patient and the oncologist tells you that xyz is the best course of action....you do xyz, right? I wonder all the time what would have happened if he had stopped at the surgical treatment.

Anyway, he died in December about a week before his 75th birthday. A man who, until then, was healthy as a horse, physically active and listed "Tylenol" when asked what medications he was "on" currently.

He eventually decided to stop the chemo because ti was just so hard on him and, like I said, no positive effects shown.

I will pray for your dad and remember, every patient IS different. This was all about 6 years ago and research is being done every day.

Feel free to pm me if you'd like any more info about my experience.

Cancer is a scary word and I am sorry it has hit home for you.

My best friend's father was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in 2003. He started receiving immediate treatment and was sent to the cancer center in Texas for specialized care, but he passed away 8 months later.

His cancer was aggressive and was not discovered right away so please do not get discouraged.

Also keep in mind that this was nearly a decade ago and I can only assume that treatments have advanced since 2003.

I recommend joining the Stand Up To Cancer community - they have a great website and Facebook page and will be a supportive and informative hub for you and your family through this step in your life!

Since your family is no stranger to cancer, you probably have experience with the American Cancer Society. I have called them up for information.

I have a friend who had surgery for it a few years ago. His chances were not good, and we were all afraid that he would die. They took care of it, and he is trudging along fine, except for his alcoholism.

http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/...

Hi K.-

My gentleman friend, Peter, was diagnosed in jan. 2008 with stage 3 adenocarcinoma in the distal junction of his esophagus. He had a history of GERD...and was theoretically being 'monitored'...A swallowing issue brought him to the ER...and ultimately the diagnosis.

He had a feeding tube put in prior to chemo/radiation. He had chemo/radiation concurrently for 6-8 weeks...then a 'rest time' of about 5 weeks before the surgery as others have described. He is still cancer free...it will be 4 years this may since surgery.

He is doing well...but the surgery is about a 12 on a scale of 10 in terms of difficulty.

Pittsburgh (and a DR Luketech (sp?) has made great strides over the years with a minimally invasive esophagectomy...I recommend that you join a list thru ACOR.org for survivors/caregivers of those with esophageal cancer...everyone's experience with this disease is subtly different...and now that many are managing to 'beat' this beast...their experiences on the journey have been INVALUABLE to us!

Private me for more details...

You remain in my thoughts and prayers...as does your dad...

Best Luck!
michele/cat

He needs to be on a very HIGH QUALITY Nutrition program to get him in shape for future. He will be facing chemo and radiation, most likely and maybe surgery, which will make his esophagus "impassable" not able to swallow, and will have pain in chest. These procedures usually require feeding tube placement and or IV nutrition and hydration because of weight loss, loss of appetite and inability to consume adequate oral intake. Of course the side effects, long term will be problematic, and will affect quality of life significantly.
There is a great book written by Robert Wright, who is head of the American Anti-Cancer Institute, called "KILLING CANCER--NOT PEOPLE". It has great information and real life scenerio's on how to help yourself in dealing with the nutritional aspects of treatment.
Oncology nursing and IV therapy is my background, but nutrition is a focus. Nutrtition is so much more than giving a can of Ensure or Boost, or Carnation instant breakfast, which is often the recommendation of Drs. and dieticians.
There are many resources in you local "cancer institute / oncology department".
The prognosis is determined by the stage of cancer, if caught early, and no metastasis (outside of local tumor), improves survival significantly.

A close friend of mine was diagnosed with this same cancer. In his case he was a good candidate for surgery. They removed the cancerous section of the esophagus and moved his stomach up to accommodate the shorter esophagus. He underwent additional therapy (radiation, not sure about chemo). This was about 15 years ago and he is doing fine. He has certain rules about diet and not lying down too soon after eating.

My grandfather had aggressive cancer cells found on his esophogus (they were monitoring him for it because of a history of acid reflux). They decided to do a complete esophageal removal/replacement (was in college, so not initmately involved with the details).

Surgery went well, but he then developed a staph infection which complicated things.

The scar tissue from the surgery eventually made it impossible for him to swallow anything and he was finally put on a feeding tube. It wasn't probably a year after that he passed.

It was a terrible experience. Make sure you ask all the questions you want/need - get the answers you need. Make sure his surgeons are the best you can get. Ask about scar tissue. And make sure the hospital is top-rated, as well.

My dad had 2 different kinds of cancer in his throat. One was smoking caused an the other was a rare complicated tumor from exposure to agent orange during Vietnam war. The complicated tumor was treated with experimental radiation that paralyzed my father eventually leading to his early death. HOWEVER. The other typical cancer he had in his throat was scraped out and they were never seen again. No issues.