Esophageal Cancer Support Group

Hi Donna! It's great to hear from you. Sounds like you may be done with your treatments and ready for surgery. I had a lot of trouble swallowing before my surgery (I felt mainly due to the radiation I'd received) and lost a lot of weight too. I had extra weight though, so it didn't make me get too thin. By the time my surgery date rolled around 7 or 8 weeks after my treatments, I was really just ready to get it done and start healing from it. It was scary for me too. But I, too, tried not to go there and keep positive :-) Good luck and be sure and keep in touch. You can do this :-) Just take it one day at a time. God bless. Brenda

Hi Brenda,
Thanks for the encouraging words. Wish I had bulked up before my chemo if I knew I was going to go down so far. I am about 128 lbs and was 144 lb. I will do what you said one day at a time, have a lot of tests to get done yet. I did not wind up with a stent or j tube they could not do it. I will keep in touch and hope that all who are waiting for surgery do well and stay strong.
Donna70

I didn't have a stent either. I did have the j-tube (if that's the feeding tube going into the small intestine), but I wasn't a big fan of it. Although I don't regret having it. I know of others who have not had to have it and I've heard of others that had it put in the day they had surgery.

This month I get my scope, cat scan & oncologist appt. It'll be a one year check from my surgery. Hopefully, all will come back all clear!

What a difference a year can make - last year with my surgery 11/24 it was the Monday before Thanksgiving, so I couldn't eat a bite on Thanksgiving Day. This year (although my portions will be limited - I'll enjoy grazing on all the things I missed last year - all day long :-) I think after you have your surgery and a few months after that, you'll be able to find yourself gaining back a little of your weight - if you want to. Take care & hang in there! Keep in touch! Bren

Hello Donna,
I just wanted to send you a world of well wishes. You are going to be fine. You show in your writing how strong you really are. That strength will help you through it all. I wish you all the best and hope you keep in touch and let us know how you are. My prayers are with you.

I'm brand new here and need some advice. My Dad doesn't have Cancer- but has Barrett's and is on a feeding tube. The Mayo in Jax says he needs the removal surgery and I am terrified. He is 68 has emphysema and had a quad bipass 3 years ago. The surgeons are telling my Mom that it's a very risky surgery- I need to hear good things. Is he too old? He's in the Mayo now and has been for 16 days. He had a surgery done on the 3rd where they were supossed to fix his esophogus and it didn't work. Does this surgery really have a 20% mortality rate? So Scared! Any thought or advice would be greatly appreciated. Stefanie

Stephanie,
I don't know what to tell you, I am 66 and in pretty good health except for being too thin right now after chemo and radiation. I think maybe your family might need a 2nd opinion since they want to do radical surgery and your father has emphysema. What do they say his chances are? and how bad is his emphysema? Lung capacity is important to get thru the surgery, I am getting a lung function test. I think it might be 15% mortality rate but I am not sure. I would really talk to the drs see their pros and cons about the surgery, if it is the full open removal of the esophagus it involves 6-8 hrs of surgery or more and there can be complications. If you read some of these posts some people don't make it home. It needs to be done at a hospital where they do them frequently and the drs are considered experts in this area. I am sure other people can give you more advice. there is a minimally invasive version being done up in Pittsburgh and other places and the recovery time is much shorter. I could not find your other post to read it, kind of disappeared from my screen. I hope this helps. take care and good luck to your family esp your Dad.
Donna70

Mine only took 3 hours as a thoacic surgeon worked the neck area at the same time the other surgeon worked from the abdomen area. They work as a team.

They did say they would have a lung specialist check on me right away and as long as necessary as that can be an issue from this surgery. He checked on me for a few days and fortunately for me, there was no issue.

Symptoms, issues, type surgery (I've heard of some people having this done laparoscopically) can vary in so many ways, but "hope" is there for all of us to hang onto. It comes from inside and outside forces can reinforce it :-)

Is your surgery date still 12/8, Donna? I'll be anxious to hear from you when you're back home from it :-) Please keep in touch here on the board! God bless.

Hi Brenda,
My date is still 12/8 and I won't be home till 12/21 and my surgery is going to be 6-8 hrs and I also got an ng tube put in for more nutrition so that has been a not so good cosmetic look for sure. I have only gained 2.5 lbs since the tube was put in but hoping to put more weight on in the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the support!!
Donna70

Hi Donna: I definitely think it's good to stay in the hospital as long as you and your Drs. feel you should. I was anxious to leave because my husband couldn't be with me, while I was in the hospital as he'd had a stroke a year before. When I left the hospital I was going to stay in a place called Sunrise (Assisted Living) with him, because they had a one month minimum pay - and that seemed to be the best place for him while I was in the hospital. My sisters and son thought it was great that I could stay there with my husband and us get our meals and him have the care he needed, while I recovered. That worked out perfect for us. We do not like to be apart - never have really, since we met 35 years ago :-)

That's great that you've gained some weight! I'm not a big fan of the feeding tube as far as looks or comfort, but for what I needed it for, it was a blessing (I suppose). :-) But I never felt friends with it! They took it out a month after surgery with much prodding from me! How I wanted to have some normal "feeling" life back again.

It was worth all the effort and time of life I had to give it to survive and get my normal life back. I don't take it for granted anymore (good health) and always try to keep it fresh in my mind.

Have a great day. You're probably counting down the days for getting it done! I know I was by then. Just think, when you wake from surgery - you'll be starting your recovery process. God bless. Brenda