Husband with Esophageal Tumor

chloe1026 · New User Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 1

Hi. My 41 year old husband was just told that he has a tumor in his esophagus and that it appears to be malignant. We are waiting to have an ultrasound done to see how far the tumor has penetrated the esophageal wall. The doctor said that the nymph nodes near his esophagus do not appear to be swollen which was a huge relief.

I have been doing a lot of reading online and it is scaring the bejeezus out of me. From what I have seen, it seems that without the lymph nodes being affected, the worse it could be is stage IIA but I am still holding out hope that it is stage 0 or stage 1.

Please tell me there is hope. I have been crying on and off all day which is difficult because I am a fifth grade teacher and it was overwhelming trying to keep my composure all day. My husband is in good health otherwise and his most common symptom was acid reflux. He does not have trouble nor pain with swallowing, he is not losing weight and he does not feel ill. Is this all good? Have we caught it early? I know that I need to wait until the ultrasound but it is maddening thinking of all the what ifs.

I hope that there is someone out there who will read this and send some positive thoughts and prayers our way.

Vee Smith · Moderator Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 1003 Location: UK

Hi - There is hope. I have a friend diagnosed some six years ago with a more advanced oesophageal cancer than your husband seems to have, and he is still alive and very much kicking. There was a very difficult 18 months of treatment and recovery, but he is back to normal weight, is now eating what he likes and is still working.

Brian Tisdale · New User Joined: 14 May 2008 Posts: 2

Very sorry to hear about your husbands condition, but the good news is that it appears they caught it early. I am now 56, and I also had acid reflux for a long time, and didn't notice any problems until I couldn't swallow very easily. After my diagnosis (Stage 2), I was told that surgery was not an option. I went through a Clinical Trial at the U.C Davis Cancer Center, with chemo and radiation treatments, that lasted about 6 months. Since that time, the cancer has returned 2 times, the last time being 1 year ago, and fortunatly both times it was caught early, and I had Photo-Dynamic procedures to eliminate the cancer. I am still working full time, traveling, and enjoying my family and 5 new grand kids. Due to the treatments that I have had, I have scaring on my esophagus which builds up, and I have difficulty swallowing. However, when this occurs, I go in for a endoscopic dilatation that opens up the esophagus for swallowing. The chemo, radiation, and photo-dynamic procedures while uncomfortable, are tolarable,and medication is prescribed to help. The endoscopy's are easy, and I am usally able to go to work the next day.

Your husband is young, cancer was caught early, he has your support (which is most important), and he can get through the treatments. Don't just read all of the bad things about this disease (which there are many), read about some of the successes, think positive, and be a strong advocate for your husband. Wishing the best.

damcgeoy · New User Joined: 28 Dec 2008 Posts: 1

How did the ultrasound go? I'm a 2 year survivor of stage IV in Seattle. Happy to give whatever I can in terms of perspective, experience, complications, et.

Best of luck Dave

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