Preliminary Report

My best friend was told, after having an endoscopic exam, that they believe he has stage iv esophageal cancer. Doctor tells him that his lymph nodes were lit up and that he has a7 cm irregular tumor in lower esophagus.  He has not received the biopsy results yet.  He is having night fevers and sweats.  Could it be anything but a malignant cancer causing all of this?  He is 53 years old and never had a health problem before learning of this suddenly.  I am in shock and disbelief.  Any response would be appreciated.

wow...has he had any scans done?  it seems like it from what the dr. said about the lymph nodes lighting up...i had the same thing....also dx at stage iv.

 surely, your friend must be having trouble eating at this stage?  no?

 tell your friend not to worry and to stay positive...he will need to do his research and find the best dr.s available to him.

that is what i did..i was diagnosed last year at the age of 36...dr.s were in shock over me having sucha thing.

however, with lots of support, a positive attitude, lots of prayer and the best dr.s i now type to you cancer free!

you and your friend need to hang in there....ask any and all questions you might have and keep us posted.

be well and God bless!

-Stacey

 

gho

Dear Stacey,

Thank you so much for your response.  I must say that I am relieved to hear the positive report as mostly everyone I talk to about this has a grim response.  That is fantastic that you have gone through the treatment and that you are now cancer-free! 

If you dont mind my asking, where did you go for your treatment?  Who is your doctor and what was your treatment?  My friend and i live in PA. We are both judges. My friend has 4 young children and it is just tearing everyone up.  ANy suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  I will put you on my prayer list that you continue to be cancer free. God bless.

Chris  

 

On 7/1/2009 Stacey19 wrote:

wow...has he had any scans done?  it seems like it from what the dr. said about the lymph nodes lighting up...i had the same thing....also dx at stage iv.

 surely, your friend must be having trouble eating at this stage?  no?

 tell your friend not to worry and to stay positive...he will need to do his research and find the best dr.s available to him.

that is what i did..i was diagnosed last year at the age of 36...dr.s were in shock over me having sucha thing.

however, with lots of support, a positive attitude, lots of prayer and the best dr.s i now type to you cancer free!

you and your friend need to hang in there....ask any and all questions you might have and keep us posted.

be well and God bless!

-Stacey

 

gho

 

Hang in there....My husband was also diagnosed with stage 4 EC in April. The initial shock overwhelming. He is responding quite well. His swollowing has improved and his liver blood work is holding its own. He just finished his 4th chemo and will go for a CT scan next week, Get your thoughts together.Go for the necessary tests and find a Medical oncologist. I'm sure he will have to go for a biopsy and this will give you time to look for an oncologist. If you are in PA, I head that a Dr. Ghany is good and will even answer questions on line. Have a positive attitude and have hope! Keep us posted!

 

Thank you so much for the response.  That sure helps to hear it from someone who is going through it with some success.  Where is Dr. Ghany's office?

On 7/1/2009 tulips1 wrote:

Hang in there....My husband was also diagnosed with stage 4 EC in April. The initial shock overwhelming. He is responding quite well. His swollowing has improved and his liver blood work is holding its own. He just finished his 4th chemo and will go for a CT scan next week, Get your thoughts together.Go for the necessary tests and find a Medical oncologist. I'm sure he will have to go for a biopsy and this will give you time to look for an oncologist. If you are in PA, I head that a Dr. Ghany is good and will even answer questions on line. Have a positive attitude and have hope! Keep us posted!

 

I agree with Stacey. Hang in there. Husband was stage 4 at dx with lung mets and large tumor at base of esophagus, and is currently on his final day of Xeloda before a chemo holiday. We live in MA, but our oncologist moved to Erie, PA last year and we continue to see her there. We believe he is still here because she chose to treat him aggressively at the start, hooked us up with an excellent surgeon and radiation oncologist, and never gave up on us. Of course PA is a huge state, but UPMC in Pittsburgh is cutting edge for EC surgery. Dr Luketich gets raves and does the MIE (minimally invasive esophagectomy) when it is appropriate. 

This is a rough road, but with a good team of doctors it is doable. We have reached many milestones since my husbands diagnosis late in 2005. Although we have had to deal with recurrences of the lung mets, we have had lots of good quality time out of treatment too. Life is very different in many ways, but we feel very happy to have each moment that we do.

Hi,

My husband was diagnosed March 09, stage 4, 7-8 cm tumour at base

of esophagus with mets in liver (2) and all lymph nodes too.

Too late for surgery and was given ECF CHEMO. We were told by our Oncologist here in the UK that this is standard first line treatment.

After 3 cycles the tumour has shrunk by a third in width, one of the colonies in the liver has gone and all the lymphs have shrunk. He has 3 more cycles to go before reassessment. I hope that the chemo shrinks things further and

gives him good quality life. He eats mashed foods, feels fine and has put weight back on. Lets hope your friend responds too. They don`t seem to offer radiation here, but I may enquire about it.

Although the shock was huge, we are adjusting and enjoying life as we know it. It hasn`t stopped us doing anything. Stay positive.

Boospads.