Dear Sabrina,
Your MRI results should not take long depending on how quickly the radiologist reads them and forwards the information to your doctor.
I am a 45 year old woman who was diagnosed on 12/31/03 with Cancer of the esophagus and stomach. My symptoms were very similar to yours and started right before Thanksgiving. I felt as though food was getting stuck and would not go down. Then I would get the hiccups and eventually, I would have to excuse myself from the table so that I could go vomit the food back up. This went on for two months. I started to lose weight rapidly and did not feel like eating because I did not want to go through the pain I mentioned above. I also was having quite a bit a pain in my back between my shoulder blades and was taking 32 Advil a day to ease the pain. I could not get comfortable when it was time to sleep and began sleeping on the couch with a heating pad. Going to work everyday became a chore and to make matters worse, I was covering for a co-worker who had colorectal cancer and was out of work having
surgery and chemotherapy. I begged God if he would get me through Christmas I would call my doctor. The Monday after Christmas, I contacted my doctor and she saw me immediately. She ordered a CT Scan for that same day and made me an appointment with a Gastroentrologist. By the time I reached the hospital for the CT Scan, I was vomiting large amounts of blood. I was admitted into the hospital and had an EGD the next day. I was diagnosed with Andecarcinoma of the Esophagus and Stomach.
Now to discuss your situation, I would definetly talk to your doctor about your esophagus as your symptoms sound identical to mine. I had numerous upper GI series completed, MRIs, PET Scans and chest xrays. I had two EGDs with biopsies. Upon completion of these tests, I was scheduled to begin 35 radiation treatments and would begin chemotherapy right away. The radiation was no problem for me, but the chemo made me violently ill. I vomited constantly and had terrible diarrhea. I lost all of my hair. I had to have a feeding tube installed as I could no longer eat and even drinking water became a problem. I developed an infection and had to be admitted into the hospital for a week to get the infection under control and to hydrate me as I had become dehydrated. Upon completion of the radiation and chemo, I had surgery on May 20th, 2004. I had to have two thirds of my esophagus removed and over one half of my stomach removed. They performed the Ivor-Lewis procedure where they pull up the stomach and connect to the remainder of my esophagus. They cut me from my navel to my breasts and under my right breasts to the middle of my back. They had to remove one rib and collapse my lungs. The surgery lasted ten hours. After surgery, I had drainage tubes from my lungs and stomach. I had a tube coming out of my nose and I was on oxygen. I was in the hospital for 10 days and I will not lie to you, it was pure hell. My recouperation was very slow, I went home with the feeding tube, staples up my stomach, staples from my rib cage to back, a port to receive further chemotherapy treatments and oxygen. I had to be a therapeutic breathing machine. In August, I resumed chemotherapy three times a week which lasted an additional three months. Eventually, I was weaned from the oxygen, staples were removed, tubes were removed and I began to eat. It was a difficult process, like teaching a baby to eat again. Very small bites and very small portions. I had lost a total of 50 pounds. When I was first diagnosed, the doctors did not think I would make it. The only thing that I had going for me was that I was young (43) and that the cancer had not spread to my liver or lymph nodes. Originally they had diagnosed me as stage four but after the PET scan changed it to stage three.
I would definetly recommend that you seek treatment at a major medical center that specializes in your type of cancer. I traveled 5 hours each way to Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia for my surgery. My surgeon was excellent had done many surgeries. Local surgeons had no experience in this type of surgery and my family would not allow them to operate on me. The traveling was awful and I was so sick, but in the long run, it was the best decision we made. Please ask your doctor to schedule a PET Scan. They inject you with Radioactive Sugar and then you ride through a tunnel. Cancer reacts to sugar and it is the most definitive test to determine if the cancer has spread anywhere in your body.
If you can no longer swallow, try drinking Carnation Instant breakfast, ensure or boost. Baby food is good, ice cream, peanut butter, mashed potatoes. Stay away from bread, meat, lettuce. They get stuck very easy. If you cannot digest anything I have mentioned, please ask your doctor about a feeding tube. Nutrition is very important.
I am here to answer any questions you might have. This May, will mark my two anniversary of being Cancer free. I now able to eat just about anything I want. Every so often, I have to have my esophagus stretched so that food does not get stuck. I have gained back 25 pounds and I am slowly regaining my strength and able to do things I used to do.
I wish you luck in your search for answers and treatment. Please contact me as much as you like and keep me updated on your treatment. I hope that my story does not scare you, it was meant to be informative and inspirational. You CAN SURVIVE. Be strong and be patient, and God will see you through.