my husbands esophgael cancer battle

[chevy87]

hi to all who is going thru this beast called cancer my husband was diagnoised withe esophagus cancer may 7th 2007 the tumor was mid section of the esophagus we had ct scans and then was refered to shands at the universty of florida where we met with a wonderful surgeron there he was very kind and anserwed my hundrds of question we were outlined our course of action 6weeks chemo and 30 radaitoin treatment then revaulation to deterime if he was canditae for surgrey .it was heart breaking to watch him go through the pain of the chemo and radaition but he was a real fighter and never let it get the best of him we were so very forutate with the support and prayers of family and friends to help us out during this time . he ended up with a j tube for about 6months because of severe weigth lose 6foot and weight 125lbs we were able to increase his weight by tube feedind and lots of ensure milkshakes. our prayers were ansered when we returned to shands (gainsville florida)in august 2007 where pet scan showed the tumor had shrunk and he was indeed a canditae for the surgey to make a long story short he had the ivor lewis gastric pull thru on sept 4,2007 we were in the hospital 2weeks then was discharged to rehab center near our home for 1 week of strengthining
it has been a long road of recovery learing to eat several small meals but with faith and strength he is now up to 147lbs he still has good days and bads days but last pet scan showed no cancer he is truely a fighter and i am so blessed to have him here with me almost 2 years later may all who is going thru this terrible thing called cancer find the strength and peace
and belive in miracles i sure do i see one every time i look at my husband

[cathymac]

Thank you for your post, my husband has cancer of the stomach and esopagus and is going through Chemo and radiation right now and experiencing extreme weight loss, it is good to read a success story. Our goal is also the surgery!

Cathy

[chevy87]

thanks for the nice reply cathymac hope your husband is doing as well as he can going thru radiation and chemo the weight loss is a terrible thing it seems to take forevere to even get a pound on but keep the faith that it will happen. i do hope and pray that your husband will be able to have the
surgery but also rember to take care of youself as well my husband and sister (who has bladder cancer now in remisson) walked the surviors lap
at our local relay for life event it was inspireing to see him go around the track after all he had been thru to all that has cancer of any type my prayers are with you and your family .

[cathymac]

Thanks for writing back, it is so inspiring to hear of a "win".......Bryan is a bit better, working with extreme doses of nausea drugs and some heave prilosec for the stomach bile that keeps building up. 3 more weeks of chemo and radiation then back to Mayo for retesting!

Sincerely,
Cathy

[chevy87]

hi to all;
cathymac hope bryan is doing as well was he can ,we found besides the
regular nausas medicines my husbands oncoligisist prescibed a gel made of phenergan,and compozine that we could rub on his wrist to help with the nausea and it helped him .alot i pray and hope that when yall go back to mayo for retest that you get good news and that he will eventually be able to have the surgrey.how is his eating and the calorie intake going ?
my prayers and thoughts are with everyone that has this horrible thing called cancer.

[cathymac]

thanks for the tip, I will ask the oncologist about it on Monday. things appear to finally be going a bit better. He lost 40 lbs in 30 days, but last week only lost 1-1/2 lb. He is finally able to eat cream of wheat and some chicken broth ......and ice cubes, he is finally getting some fluids. they told us the raidiation would eventually shrink the tumor and I think it finally is. If this were all just "normal" chemo nausea, I think we would be all right, it is the stomach cancer that is just making it crazy.

What a ride this all is. I am almost forgetting what normal is all about. Thanks so much for the suggestion!

Cathy

[cathymac]

Any ideas on what to feed Bryan??? right now all we are doing is yogart and chicken broth??

Cathy

[chevy87]

hi cathymac,
on the sugesstion of what to eat,i did buy at walmart some protein powder
that i would put in hisensure milkshakes also my husband while taking
his chemo txs would get these cravings such as for fruit,(pinapple,watermelon,cantoulope,etc) also he was able to eat alot of the cream soups,jello ,scrambled eggs soft was one of his faviortes how is his
weight ?maybe you can talk with a dietican for some more suggestions
on what to try i know it is very hard to come up with items that is high in calories and that they will eat good luck and i am still praying for you and for good results when you go to mayo.

[chevy87]

hello all just wanted to wish everyone merry christmas and a healthy 2010
my husband is doing extemely well last pet scan NED, we are truley blessed and we thank the lord for that he has had a problem with weight
125lbs after ivor lewis surgery sept2007 ,he now weighs 160 lbs and is 6foot tall what a relief to finally see some meat on his body he has gotten his strenght back some still good and bad day we are just glad to be able to take it one day at a time i just want everyone to know that no matter what we are dealt in this life if we trust and belive the good lord will help and bless us regardless of the trials we face.may everyone on these boardshave a merry christmas and a blessed 2010

[Barb1234]

my husband was diagnosed with ec in june of o8. he went through chemo, radiation , surgery, more chemo and radiation. more cells were still found and he has just finished two rounds of brachy therapy. he has lost 80 pounds and is having a hard time eating. he just had a dialation which helped a little but not as much as we had hoped for. he will have more biopsys done in january and the doctor is very positive about the outcome. It is so hard not knowing what will happen next and trying to stay positive. has anyone been through brachy therapy. any help or advice would be appreciated

[Barb1234]

CHEvy87
My husband was diognosed one year after your husband and seems to be following a similar course in his recovery. He is being treated at Emory and have been happy with his care so far but don't seem to get answers as to what to expect even two months from the present. We are hoping for a cancer free answer after his next biopsy in Jan. In the mean time eating has become the biggest concern. Some days are better than others and the better days are increasing. It's encouraging to know there
is hope. Thank you for your story and I pray things will keep improving for you and your husband.
Barb1234

[namaratasnv]

Hi,

I think it is better if you don't go for any more biopsies as, it will be harmful if you do it again.

As, it is better if you consult a good doctor who will suggest you best medications that are required the most if you are going through cancer.

[chevy87]

justn a quick update on my husband he had 6mth pet scan 2/17/2010we got the results today seems there was activity on pet scan in right middle lung lobe so we see his oncoligisist 2/19/2010 to discuss our options strange thing he had his cea marker checked in december and it was a 2which we were told was normal range so now it seems like we are on a whole new roller coaster ride

[sktmkg]

I'm so glad to have this forum. It really is hard going through this without support. It is new to our family so when we see that our mother is losing weight, we always thought the worst, but I can see now that it's normal for this type of cancer patient. It's hard convincing mom at times and the doctors seem to worry about the weight loss. Thanks, we will keep working on getting her to eat more often...it really is a battle.

[namaratasnv]

Thank you for your post, my husband has cancer of the stomach and esopagus and is going through Chemo and radiation right now and experiencing extreme weight loss, it is good to read a success story. Our goal is also the surgery!

Cathy

Dont worry cathy everything will be alright just keep some patience soon the things will be alright just be there with your husband.

Thanks