Small Cell Carcinoma / Esophagus - PLEASE HELP!

lhrowell · Last edited by lhrowell on Wed Sep 02, 2009 2:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

My husband was diagnosed 8 weeks ago with esphageal cancer. The tumor is 3 cm in the esp. and 2 cm in the stomach (total of 5 cm) with all of the local lymph nodes impacted. We are told it is very rare. It is called SMALL CELL CARCINOMA type of cancer. They said stage 4 or T3N1M1A. The PET scan did not show any spread to other organs but it has gone through the wall, lining and muscle of the esophagus and in the lymph nodes in that region. (What is a region??)

The doctor avoids giving direct answers. Of course, we all know it is a wait and see situation. He started chemo 3 weeks ago with Cisplapin and Irinotecan. We are told that they will add radiation in the 6th week then run until the end of the 12th week. Then they plan surgery. With this said, he is trying to plan out his work for surgery in 12 weeks. One doctor said it was not operable the other one said it should be. He only heard the positive doctor.

He is 49 years old, in overall good health, does not smoke or drink and looks very healthy right now. After 3 chemo treatments, he can not even tell he has had the treatments. No side effects. How can he be this sick and look so good?

Everything I have read has been horrible about this stage and type of cancer. The doctor is vague and says we are shooting for surgery. Of course we are, but he would not tell us any type of timeline to consider.
As parents, you just need to have an idea of what you might be facing.

Can someone give me an honest opinion of this situation? We do not want bad answers, we just want the truth. Has anyone faced this level of this type of cancer? Small Cell Carcinoma is rare and very bad? What are we looking at?

chevy87

hi, sorry to hear about your husbands diagnois ,the waiting for answers is
probaly the hardest part on this roller coaster ride .it is good that your husband has not been sick from the chemo .is he still able to eat well? we
wern't told if my husband was a cadindate for the surgery untill after his chemo and radiation treatments and then only after his case was reviewed by the tumor board at universty of fla(gainsville) my thoughts
and prayers are with yall as you travel this road . may you get the answers to your questions as soon as possible also remeber to take care
of yourself we care givers sometimes forget to do that.

brenda wife of chey87
diagnosied may2007 ,surgery sept 2007 NED as of sep2009 Smile

lhrowell

Thank you so much for your reply. The waiting is hard. I never realized how tasking that could be.

dfrost · New User Joined: 27 Sep 2009 Posts: 1 Location: New York

Take a look at:

***LINK REMOVED - PLEASE SEE SITE POLICY ON POSTING LINKS***

I'm happily one of the long-term survivor data-points in these studies. Small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus is an aggressive cancer, but Memorial Sloan-Kettering, at least, is getting pretty good at treating it.
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small-cell survivor

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