Esophageal Cancer Support Group

Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes. Esophageal tumors usually lead to dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), pain and other symptoms, and is diagnosed with biopsy. Small and localized tumors are treated with surgery, and advanced tumors are treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or combinations.

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MartinL 05/02/2013

So....I've just returned from an 11 day Europeon vacation to Spain, France and Italy. I left on April 17...which just happened to be the 4 year anniversary of my diagnosis of Stage 4 EC. Although I ate too much on a couple of ocassions(hard not to)...had a bit too much wine one evening(so what?)..and struggled with appetite at the beginning....I was able to keep up with my wife and the other 2 couples in every respect. If one did not know, no one would ever have suspected that 4 years ago I was basically issued a death sentence. I convey this because I'm very grateful that things have turned out so differently than I was told they might...but much more so to offer hope to anyone who needs it. I am leading a normal life after being told I had an 11% chance to live a year. I am traveling to Europe and enjoying myself after being told i had a 3% chance to survive 5 years. I implore you not to listen to the statistics, not to pay attention to the dark side, not to read the National Cancer Institute page on EC...there is nothing helpful about that stuff. Live in the moment...if you are in the midst of treatment, drag your butt out of bed and try to stay in your routine. Exercise, force down calories...and most importantly
convince yourself...and really believe...you can beat this thing. Survival rate has never been higher and is increasing all the time. New chemo drugs are being tried every year. My new oncologist told me when Oxaliplatin started being used around 4 or 5 years ago it changed the landscape for EC. You are all tough, strong people..you can do it...ML.

Brenda2008 05/02/2013

Love your post, Martin. Thanks so much for sharing your story! Brenda

deleted_user 05/02/2013

Thank you, Martin.

My husband is post surgery and treatments by a few months, but still sleeping about 16-18hours a day and still slowly loosing weight. Would you say this is something you had to battle? What would be your suggestions to me?

MartinL 05/02/2013

I was very tired for a couple of months after all the treatment. Try to find something he likes to eat and that agrees with him...preferably carbs or starches...and eat a lot of it(mashed potatoes were great, ice cream,rice with a sauce,mac and cheese) I didnt like Ensure as a supplement...so I did Carnation Instant breakfast. Dan will tell you fruit and yogurt smoothies(I Think)..anything that fills him up. When I just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep...there was this voice in my head(and I still hear it sometimes) that said, :You'll feel better if you get out of bed"....keep him moving....walk around the block, staionary bike...something...my key was/is trying to stay normal....ML.

Annie30066 05/02/2013

Martin - never have truer words been said - you, Brenda & Fred have been inspirations to us all and we thank you for your positive outlooks.

Azbirdsong - it will take your hubby a while to get back to "normal" as EC is a huge surgery and takes a lot out of us. It took me about 6 months just to feel like a human being again :)

I can only re-enforce everything Martin said.

Keeping you, hubby & everyone else on this site in my prayers.

Cheers Annie

deleted_user 05/02/2013

Thank you all for your responses. We seem to be battling issues every day. The latest is kidney stones in both kidneys. He is trying to eat, but what he does eat seems to come back up. Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragements.

deleted_user 05/03/2013

You are an inspiration. Thank you for this post. I am printing oit off and hanging it on the refrigerator for Paul to read over and over again.

Thank you

Linda65401 05/03/2013

Martin, you are an inspiration to all of us! I'm going to send your good report and advice to my sister. Thank you so much.

deleted_user 05/03/2013

I had to read this post to my husband. We love to travel as well, and when he was diagnosed (about a month ago) we were sure he would not be able to travel anymore. Of course, this was after our despair over the diagnosis and wondering how long he had to live. I came to this site and it was the first comfort I got by reading other people's stories. I now had hope for the future. After his treatment was outlined we wondered if he would be able to make the cruise we have planned in December. We decided not to cancel. If need be, we can cancel later. However, right now, it gives him something to aim for. I realize that he may be in no shape to travel that soon. If we can't make that trip, maybe he will be able to travel down the road. Thanks for your post.

cindyhils 05/03/2013

thanks for posting this Martin, we need to hear lots of this positive stuff!! i love everything you said! God Bless...

deleted_user 05/04/2013

thank you I read this to my hubby it encouraged him so much.Hes doing well so far and even golfed this week.We are 3 weeks into chemo and radiation.I hope this continues for him I keep him full and keep him active.He still delivers the news every day on a small route.Gets him up every day at 430! Thnaks again nancy

prayinglots 05/05/2013

Thanks Martin. My husband had surgery almost three weeks ago, so he was glad to hear this.

deleted_user 06/29/2013

Oh did I ever need to hear this today! My husband has Stage IV EC. We are receiving treatment, but what a long, hard road it is. Thanks for the encouragement and HOPE that we can survive this.

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