Well, this journey is now real. Just had my staging laparoscopy this week so it is early doors for me. Already astounded by the mutual kinship in this community. I need to understand some of the mnemonics Flot, Pics etc but I am sure this will become clear very soon. Early indications are there is no metastasis and so the SL will hopefully (or not given many contributors experience of surgery has to go by) involve removing the tumour. I can see even in the small sample of comments that the surgery is major and firmly clarifies the need to be physically prepared for the operation. I feel am a bit older than a lot of the contributors I have read so far, and so sorry your experiences start at 60 opposed to mine at 73 but hey, we all planned to live to105 right? The one thing that is clear is there is no normal in this process, recovery rates appear to be incomparable and so far as when one can resume their ‘normal’ depends on the previous lifestyle; the variables are mind blowing. I suppose I am saying the support that many of you provide is the best comparison any of us can hope for - so in advance - thank you. It has been useful to understand the length of time some of you guys have spent in hospital post-op and so I find that scary - like so many of you - this will be my only stay in hospital. I have to be open in saying I really don’t want to be ill as a consequence of preventative surgery but then I want to be able to see 105 so I don’t have a lot of choice! Even my laparoscopy wasn’t without drama. Don’t get me wrong I am grateful, but they performed an impromptu procedure on an Umblical Hernia I didn’t know I had. Like all of you I have had an array of scans which if one looks at it positively I only have oesophageal cancer because according to all the other results I am perfectly clear, how many people get to find that out - yay… I look forward in speaking with some of you directly, in the meantime good luck to everyone in your moment
