My Husband

Hi, my name is Annie and my husband was dx. EC stage 4 with lymphs positive. I am a nurse. He is 56yr. and I am 55yr. We have been married almost 9 yrs. He has had chemo. cistplatin/5FU two rounds of this. We had a follow-up CT last Monday and are due for the follow-up PET next week. I am really scared and so is he. He is in good physical shape, and did fairly well with the chemo and radiation tx. 25 of those. I just cannot go to the place where I lose him. He is a fighter but our oncologist said his prognosis is poor. After the chemo/radiation he is to have the surgery. We have heard the surgery is really horrible and I am just hoping he is getting the best care we can find. Reading others experience lets me know the treatment is about the same around the country. I have been online with OSU, Cancer tx. Centers of America, and Cleveland clinic. It is just so hard to read that others are not getting well after all the treatment. Please share. Thank you--Annie

Dear Gailanne,

I am a 45 year old stage III esophageal cancer survivor. I had adenocarcinoma of GE Junction. My doctors gave me little hope of survival. I had 7 weeks of daily radiation and had chemo 3 times a week for 4 weeks. I then had the surgery (Ivor-Lewis Procedure) or Esophagectomy. Most of my stomach and esophagus were removed. Two months after the surgery, I had additional chemo treatments. This May 20th, I will celebrate 2 years of being CANCER FREE. My CT scan and Upper GI series taken weeks ago were all negative. I know this is a horrible cancer and I know you are scared. But I am here to tell you that you can survive. When my cancer was diagnosed I could not swallow or eat. I lost over 50 pounds and was vomiting blood. Today I can eat just about anything I want and this Sunday I am traveling to the Grand Canyon for two weeks. It has not been easy......There are many days when I did not feel good and did not think I would make it. But I did. If you have any questions, please let me know. God Bless you and Goodluck.

Hi Annie, I know right where you are, because my
husband which is 46 yrs old is in his 2nd year
of messing with this. We had the chemo and
radiation before surgery just like you are doing
now. The surgery was really bad it takes so long
to get better. He had a feeding tube in which we
didnt have to use, because he eat really good
and as much as he could. They told us that they
got all of it and that he was going to be fine.
we didnt do any chemo after surgery which I wish
that we would of to kill the little ones that we
didnt get. In less then a year it came back now
they say that there is nothing that they can do
for us. We are in the 4 stage and what they the
3 line of care, which means that they have no
ideas what to do. So what I am telling you is to
make sure that you do some chemo after the
surgery,I wish that we would of had been told to
do that. I think that it would of killed the
rest of the cancer. All that I can tell you is
to be very strong with the drs. tell that is
what you want. Your husband will feel like he
does not what to do any more chemo, but i wish
that we would of because we would not be in this
problem now, he would be strong and not doing
chemo now.
stay strong, and ask alot of questions
Paulette

Yes, the surgery is horrible, but many have survived and I am one of them. I had stage 3 , had the surgery and survived. Its been one year since my surgery and I am doing fine. tell your husband to hang tough, be strong, he can make it!

I have stage 4 esophaeal cancer and would like to talk to you about where you received your treatment. It is in the lymphnodes and bone.
I am being told that surgery is not an option.

I am so sorry to hear that you have this awful cancer. I received my chemo and radiation locally, but I had my surgery at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. I would recommend them to anyone who has received a diagnosis of cancer. They are a wonderful facility and I credit them with saving my life. If I were you I would get a 2nd opinion. There are stage 4 survivors. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thank you for your reply.could you tell me what chemicals you were given and the schedule