Hi Madmilk I had esophageal cancer two and a half years ago diagnosed nearly 3 years ago and I was 45 at the time and now 48 and in remission. I was a little luckier than you i that I was able to have surgery after chemo so my stomach has been relocated in my chest after the removal of 10cms of my esophagus, the previously affected bit in the hope it will prevent a re occurrence. The chemo had eradicated the cancer completely by the time I ad surgery so fingers crossed for you that your treatment works as successfully for you. It took them a while to diagnose me as i am female so it was definitely not a cancer they expected me to have. Take care Kas ... View more

Glad to read you are still travelling well and are 14 months past diagnosis. It is now 27 months since my surgery for oesophageal cancer and i have put all my weight back on and feel good. Last check up a couple of weeks ago reported all is well. I have only met on other person with this cancer and his prognosis was not good as it was a re occurrence and it was just under the 5 year mark for him. I met him whilst having chemo and a hi again when I had undergone my surgery and to be fair we both looked really bad. In this time I now have shoulder length hair and nobody would ever know I had been so ill and to be fair it all seems a little surreal now. Best wishes to you too and may you continue to remain stable with your condition. Kas ... View more

hi Kobigirl I went into menopause after having both ovaries removed as they were a little suspicious and refused hormone type replacements due to the risks f breast cancer. My mother had it any years ago and after already going through esophageal cancer I did not want to increase my risks through HRT or they did suggest on going on the pill and having periods again, which I certainly didnt want. I did a little research around supplements and evening primrose oil is supposed to help and also st John's Wort or simply B12 supplements. That is what I take now and seems to work. Hope this helps. Kas ... View more

I used to wear the baby bottle on my arm all the time with a piece of tubi-grip the nurses gave me when they changed it, I then stole my husbands shirts to wear when I left the house to hide it so it was quite funny as people did not know I was on continuous chemo unless i took the shirt off and one medical place I went to thought my baldness was fro taking part in the biggest shave. So wearing the bottle like this enabled me to wrap myself u with cling wrap. Kas ... View more

A tip for the PICC line and showering wrap eh top of your arm in cling wrap over the PICC make life a lot easier, although in the end I resorted to a bath as I also had feeding tube in my stomach and it became easier to wash round the and my arm in an inch or tow in the bath. Kas ... View more

Hi I had stage IV esophagus cancer. I had chemo which enabled me to start eating again and killed the tumour completely and the biopsy's after the surgery all came back clear so I decided not to have further chemo after my surgery and I am now just over 2 years clear. The chemo was not as bad as I expected in regards to nausea but then I was constantly sick prior to the chemo but the tiredness floored me after the big doses for a few days. Good luck and hope all goes well and feel free to ask any questions and will help as best as I can. Kas ... View more

Hi I had stage IV esophagus cancer. I had chemo which enabled me to start eating again and killed the tumour completely and the biopsy's after the surgery all came back clear so I decided not to have further chemo after my surgery and I am now just over 2 years clear. The chemo was not as bad as I expected in regards to nausea but then I was constantly sick prior to the chemo but the tiredness floored me after the big doses for a few days. Good luck and hope all goes well and feel free to ask any questions and will help as best as I can. Kas ... View more

Hi Chrissy I am very sorry about your diagnosis and it is always a shock to be given the news that you have cancer. I had stage 1V esophageal cancer and from being diagnosed to having the first rounds of treatment took nearly 6 weeks. The surgeon and oncologist were very thorough with their treatment program and I do believe a lot of meetings take place behind the scenes whilst a treatment program is decided upon to treat your specific diagnosis, not to mention the endless scans and tests. Unfortunately we are just thrown into this unknown world and think the worst. The specialist going away for a week will not make your situation any worse but will give you the chance to process what is happening to you and the journey of operations, numerous tests, the chosen treatment options and the most important your recovery. Once the treatment starts your life will become overtaken by hospital appointments and you will wonder how you ever managed without these trips to focus on. I know people who have completely recovered for bowel cancer so your prognosis is good but that does not make this journey any less scary for you. Good luck with your treatment take this opportunity to come to terms with the changes in your life for the foreseeable future. Kas ... View more

Merry Christmas to you too. Looks like everyone else has disappeared for Christmas. ... View more

Hi Hel I am sorry to read that your husbands prognosis is not good and i understand you wanting to help him cope with how he is feeling but I have to say it is still only a few days since he was told the sad diagnosis and he needs to get his head around being told he may not survive this illness. You obviously love and care for him very much just like my husband did me but the realty is we take out our anger and frustrations on those closest to us in effect pushing you away. We know how much we are hurting,struggling to get through each day , each treatment and we watch how much the people caring for us do, to try and make the journey through treatment more bearable but we still have anger and regrets on how our own bodies have let us down. We have lost the choices on how we occupy our days with the regular trips to the hospital for treatments and we have also impacted our new regime onto others and feel we do not have choices in our lives anymore. When you a problem eating it becomes quite frustrating always being asked if you want something or being told you need to eat, we know deep down that we need to but it becomes such an unpleasant experience. I remember saying to my husband that if i ever get to eat properly again I wouldn't take it for granted but I can eat properly and guess what I take it for granted. I am always living with a time bomb as I have a very high chance of it returning within 5 yrs and I have been told that if it does my chances of survival will not be good and that is for a cancer that has a low survival rate anyway. He will fight this battle his own way and the only way he can and unfortunately despite all your caring it may not be the way you want him to. Just be there for him and then you know you gave him the best care you can. He still needs to be able to make some choices in his life and they may not be the ones you want him to but whatever the outcome you will know you were there for him. I think the job of being a carer to someone you love and watching them suffer is harder than being the patient and my thoughts are with you. hope I have not come across to you in a negative way but hopefully this has given you a little insight into his possible thoughts. Kas ... View more