Update 6/15/13
Today is a sad day. My sister called last night. The cancer is in her abdominal cavity. She has several masses, and 2 tumors, each about an inch in size. In her case, it was amazing how fast the cancer grew. It does not seem to be in any organs yet, but her oncologist tells her that she has about 6 months to live without chemo, and a year with chemo. She is considering not taking treatment. Looking back, I see now how her body did not respond as much as others to her first round of chemo/radiation. Her surgeon remarked at the time that it was very unusual for the cancer to spread up to another spot on the esophagus while the patient is undergoing treatment. I know we are in for a difficult time. My sister is young and strong, and her body may not want to give up even though she is ready to go on.
This is such a hopeful site. Brenda, Fred, and all the other long term survivors, you have been so helpful to me! Thank you! And my other friends, Jo, prayinglots, and the others.....keep your hope up! My sister's cancer is extremely aggressive and vicious. As you can see from this site, there are survivors! I will keep in touch occasionally and be praying for you and your loved ones. Take care and thank you. -Linda
This is such a hopeful site. Brenda, Fred, and all the other long term survivors, you have been so helpful to me! Thank you! And my other friends, Jo, prayinglots, and the others.....keep your hope up! My sister's cancer is extremely aggressive and vicious. As you can see from this site, there are survivors! I will keep in touch occasionally and be praying for you and your loved ones. Take care and thank you. -Linda
Replies
Thank you for the update Linda. I am so sorry to hear the devastating news about your sister. I pray that she makes the choice that is right for her, and will keep your family in my prayers.
Thinking of you with warm thoughts. My prayers are with you and your sister. May you find peace in the days and months ahead. May the anxiousness that fills you soon disappear. Know that many people on this site are holding you close to their hearts. Gentle hugs
Jo
I\'m so sorry, Linda, to hear that she still has cancer. We fight so hard to do as they say and are so hopeful that treatment will get us back to a healthy living. Your sister is the one to make this decision of treatment or not, for sure.
Course, my thought with her being young & strong is for her to do the treatment. Easy for me to say, right? I definitely respect whatever she decides. I just feel that every day there is the possibility of a new finding for treating cancer. Everyday I\'m alive I hope for a cure for cancer & a prevention! I know when I was getting treatment there were days that I thought...this is too hard...maybe I should stop... I\'m sure I\'m not the first person to think that. But, I pushed through it and I\'m so glad that I did. I\'ve had nearly 5 more years and I think that has surprised me as much as anyone else!
I know when you posted this your sister pretty much just got her news. Perhaps now that a day or two has passed, she will want to look into a second opinion or see if there\'s any study going on that she might qualify for.
Whatever she decides, please tell her she\'s in my prayers (as are you and your family). Hugs, Brenda
Brenda, thank you so much for your candid response. When my sister gave the news to me, the first thing I did was ask about getting a second opinion at Barnes-Jewish, since it has a large cancer center. At the time, she didn\'t even want to think about it. Perhaps she will reconsider. Another thing I wondered about was that it seems like a lot of EC patients get checked 3 months after surgery. Her scan was not until 6 months after surgery, and now the cancer is everywhere. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.