Surgery or Not

well, your question tells me you are worried about the surgery, who can  blame you for that. the answer is, i believe, dependant on what stage the cancer is. My husband was stage 2, no lymph node, no other organ involvement. he went through hell withthe surgery, we will forever be changed by that and how he lives his life now. We felt, after the fact that perhaps he should have foregone the surgery, he has some other health concerns not related to cancer. Surgeons are paid to cut, oncologists are paid to chemically treat, radio;ogist are paid to burn, but sometimes they do get it right, cancer can be killed, it can be cut out, and never come back in a resonable life time. I would say it takes ongodly courage to say, no surgery thank you. this cancer is cruel and relentless and takes the lives of 90% of the people who are diagnosed, i think my math is right there... early detectiion is the key. Why allow this beast to take a life before it's time. Fight if you can, accept the  treatment you feel comfortable with. Some have said no to surgery, but I believe they were early, early staged. 

I wish you strength to fight, for whom even is afflicted. Good Luck. 

And, each day does offer small victory over the last. Just like AA, one day at a time.

Truebrit.  

On 7/30/2009 anitasdad wrote:

Are there any cancer survivors that have chosen not to have surgery? Everything I have read shows that even if surgery is done the cancer may still come back. Is it worth the risk?

In my case it was worth the surgery at first they thought I was in the late stages so surgery was out, then I had Chemo and the tumor shrunk enough so I could have surgery and I was told I had to have it as they were going for a cure. Once surgery was complete it was staged at a T2 N1 which surprised the. It was hard, but each day did get better and for me it was worth it. It is almost 1 year later and I feel pretty good I'd say 90% and the best I can hope for is 95% so I am almost there. I was back at work a bit under 3 months post op and even though at times it felt like I was not getting better I was as when I looked back I was doing better then I had been a few days earlier. We have to fight this beast with everything we have and if surgery is part of the treatment then so be it. It is a life changing surgery, but I would do it over again. Please keep in touch.

Take Care and Be Positive

Evelyn

statiscally, i don't believe studies showed a high probability of being able to kill 100% of cancer cells through radiation/chemo. i had radiation/chemo and just got back from surgery. post surgery pathology report showed almost all the cancer cells have been killed by radiation/chemo except for microscopic cells. herein lies the problem - microscopic cells - if you didn't take it out, wouldn't you be more at risk for the cancer regrowing?

statistic is one thing but we all want to believe and want to be in the group that survives and that means doing everything possible to make sure that the cancer is taken out totally. i think you need to find a surgeon that you trust and if he said you are a candidate for surgery then i think you go with surgery. unless the person is of advance age, i believe the risk of surgery ie death within 90 days of surgery is less than 10% and if you find a surgeon who does many of this type of operation it is probably less than 5%. my surgeon had 1 mortality out of 350 surgeries that he did ( good question to ask the surgeon )

i had my surgery on 7/7 discharge on 7/15 and basically back to leading a normal life except for getting used to the new diet. for reference i am 54 years old.

andy

Andy's right about the microscopic cell. Some of us will be able to eliminate that cell with our immune systems and some won't. The fact someone has been unable to fight it once doesn't mean they won't be more successful in the future, but they are probably going to need to be proactive if the body has already proven it was unable to fight it off.

They estimate each of us has some form of cancer at least five times through our lifetime, but that many of us are able to build an immune response to deal with it before it proliferates enough to become a problem. Esophageal is a particularly insidious cancer. Some are just more virulent, and this is defintiely one of them.

The surgery is huge, but with a lesser stage of EC perhaps minimially invasive would be an option. Dr Luketich has trained quite a few surgeons who work in different parts of the country now and can do MIE. I hate to say it, but I have been surprised even by the number of people who  undergo surgery and have never shown any signs of metastasis then have it return, so I would probably opt to get it out while you can. An experienced surgeon is crucial.

besides dr luketich, in my research, dr pellegrini from univeristy of washington is said to be one of the leading surgeon for laprosocpic surgery.

it's not an easy decision to make...the surgery is not easy and i often wonder if i would have been better off not having it.

 i was dx last year with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma.  i was treated at memorial sloan kettering.  i was offered the opportunity to take part in a study which gave me the most advanced chemo and radiation treatments available at the time.  treatments were very tough, but i tolerated it well and when all was said and done, my scan and biopsy both came back negative for any live cancer cells.  i was overjoyed!  i thought, this meant i didn't need surgery!  however, after talking to my surgeon, i was told i had a 45% chance of still having microscopic cells which could not be detected without surgery.  she told me, this would be my last chance at a 100% cure.  even then, it was not easy for me to decide to have it...it is a very big surgery and it is life changing.  my oncologist recommended i have it, but he also left it up to me, as there are people out there who took part in the same study as me and have proven remission past the 5 year mark.  however, due to my young age and good health, other than cancer, i was told i was the perfect candidate for surgery and i would be foolish not to have it.  needless to say, i decided to go for it!  i am now 11 mos. post surgery and although i am not 100% i am cancer free and i know it.  i have my next scan at the end of August, but my dr.s are very confident all is well with me.

i would like to add that surgery proved my treatments were a success...no live cancer cells were found at surgery, so it turns out i really didn't need to have it afterall.  however, i am not sure how i would be right now if i didn't have it.  i know i would be feeling more like my old self, but would i be a basket case, not knowing for sure that i have no cancer inside of me??  i do not know!  i can say i would probably be because i know i am very nervous about every routine test i have regardless of how cofident my dr.s are, and yet, i cannot say for sure if that would be the case...

it's hard and there are times i do regret having it!  but, then i have to thank God that i am here with for my children and with my family and not look back.

i wish you well, which ever way you choose.

stay positive and God bless!

-Stacey

On 7/31/2009 luvliving wrote:

I had stage 3 and the dr didn't ask me if I wanted surgery he told me if I wanted to live then this was nessasary. Yes it was very tough but well worth it. I am 90% back to normal and alive with my family and friends. Whats better than that. God bless

My husband is also stage 3 and he was given similar advice by his surgeon.  His surgeon told him he could forego the surgery and party for maybe 3 - 4 months or choose to have the surgery and have a chance at living.    

Maria

I am a little more of a risk taker.    I was diagnosed in November with stage 4 adenocarcinoma EC.    After 12 cycles of taxotere/oxaliplatin/5FU, my cancer was virtually undectable (only 1 lymph node mildly enlarged, 9 biopsies of the GE junction negative for cancer.   I then went through radiation/proton beam XRT (finished last month).

 I have been told that I have a 40% chance of being cured, and with surgery it probably is greater than 80%.  The thing is, my surgeon at MD Anderson is willing to take me whenever or if it ever returns, so every 3 months I will be scanned/biopsied.   Just turning 40 yo, it is definately a life changing operation, and one not to take lightly.  So right now, I am not rushing to undergo the knife.