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.
Some of you that have been on this site for awhile may or may not remember me, my husband was dx with esophageal cancer in june of 2010 & had the surgery in feb of 2011 after 6 rounds of chemo, he was cancer free for a yr & unfortunetly his 12mo scan showed it had returned in the tissue of his abdomen & was terminal at that point, he did the oral chemo xeloda for about 6mos in hopes of slowing down the growth of the cancer but unfortunetly it started to spread to his bones & then to his lungs & sadly on Nov 9th my wonderful husband of 28 yrs lost his courages battle with this beast (as fred calls it). Thankfully the end came quickly & peacefully & he didnt suffer to long, I miss him more than I can even express but Im grateful hes in a better place now & no longer battling the beast anymore. If I can offer any advice to anyone just starting this battle it would be to do everything your Dr. Suggests, my husbands surgeon suggested a few more rounds of chemo after surgery but he had such an awful experience with his 1st 6 rounds in the beginning that he didnt want to do anymore, I dont know if that would have made a difference or not in the time he had left but you never know so please listen to your Dr. Please dont let my posting here discourage anyone thats fighting the fight right now because there are alot of survivors on this site that you should be encouraged by. God bless to all of you
I'm also sure you did everything you could possibly have done. Treatments for this beast are very very difficult to maintain. Almost everyone I know of had to change his/her treatment plan at some point because of the debilitating effect of the treatments on his/her health.
You did what you could. Don't forget that.
Thank you for letting us know. That was very thoughtful of you, particularly in this difficult time. If you feel up to it, touch base with us from time to time. There are several people on this post who have been through what you've been through. Perhaps, when you're ready, you might like to talk to them. I hope it helps.
If it's okay with you, I'll keep you both on my prayer list.
All the best,
Fred
Margi
I chose no follow-up chemo for myself. We know our limits & know the right choice for ourselves. I figured if mine came back, it would probably have come back regardless. My oncologist felt I didn't need more and my gastro really wanted me to have more. The "what if's" are really just that.
I'm here for you anytime and I'm sure you can still help others who come to the board for help with your and your husband's experience with EC. I'm glad it was peaceful for him in the end.
I know several women have joined the DS widow/widower group who's husband passed from EC. You probably know of them. They are there to share and help others like they were - and are still here on the EC board helping others. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family through this difficult time. Hugs, Brenda
"be good to yourself". It took me about 6 months to figure out what people meant by this in my grief. I now know it means don't expect too much of yourself, allow yourself rest and time and a place to grieve. If you need to bail on a buggy full of groceries in the store because grief has overwhelmed you, let yourself. Accept all offers of help, support and food. Let your family and friends take care of you, but not smother you. Know how to set limits too.
That esophageal cancer is a tough one to beat, really only 2nd to pancreatic in mortality. Know that you did all you could to save him.
Take care, hugs to you.