Surviving Oesophageal Cancer

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Hi , I’m new to this site but wanted to share my experience of living with oesophageal cancer. I realise that I’m one of the lucky ones in that my cancer was caught relatively early and was therefore operable.

I was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus in February 2007 and after many tests and two sessions of chemotherapy I underwent an Ivor Lewis operation, which is major surgery to remove the cancer, and lasted around seven hours. I responded well throughout and remained only five days in intensive care before being moved to a general ward and released a week later.

Since then, I’ve continued to do well but suffer from dumping syndrome as a result of the surgery. This is an unpleasant side-effect that causes fatigue, sweating and nausea after eating. Also, I now have to have vitamin B12 injections every three months as my body can no longer process this essential vitamin.

All in all, I feel ok and have remained positive all the way through. I realise I’m extremely lucky and count my blessings every day.

I’ve read so many negative reports about this type of cancer so I felt I had to share something positive for those of you who have, or know someone with, Oesophageal cancer.

All the best

Crystal

FormerMember over 15 years ago

Hi Crystal,

This is getting a bit out fo hand. It will be sheep jokes next and I refuse to participate in that sort of baaaaalmy correspondence.
I have taken my happy pills and hopefully will have no need to count anything before the sandman cometh.
G'night
Ben.

FormerMember over 15 years ago

Hi crystal

Hope everything went ok at the dentist this morning ,I do not like going either. Bill has just finished his last chemo on the 18th so is feeling rather tired at the moment ,his hair has all fallen out this time round so will have to remember to buy some high factor sun cream or he will be on holiday with his handkerchief knotted at the corners lol.His cough has been getting better slowly but surely and the oncoligist said that it was probably the deflated lung along with the chemo that had been the cause of it, as you know it really had me worried ,I will have to try and stop it and just get on with enjoying life.
Nora x

crystalclear over 15 years ago

(((Hi Nora))) how great to hear from you. I’m really pleased that Bill’s cough is getting better. I know how worried you were, and quite rightly, but thankfully it was just the after effects of the deflated lung which the chemo probably irritated as well. Hopefully, he’ll soon perk up. Now you must cast all worries aside, doctors orders especially for you Nora, because you have to go away with not a care and enjoy a tremendous holiday. You both deserve this and need it too and you have wondeful friends there who are going to pamper and spoil you. How much fun can it be lying beside a private swimming pool with a blue sky, warm sunshine, a cocktail or eight, home cooked food and being waited on? I reckon it can be quite fun that. Lol, not the knotted hankie, please. How about a nice sports cap? And definitely yes to the high factor sun cream for both of you, but especially since Bill has just had chemo. I wish you a safe journey and a lovely holiday. Come back and post here and tell us about it please. Take good care.
Love Crystal xx
The dentist hurt a lot. He did the xrays then gave me the total bill for my forthcomng treatment.
Hi to Everyone xx
Love Crystal

FormerMember over 15 years ago

Hi, cant believe you have to pay to be hurt! Not a one off then, poor you. Best take a hat pin and tell him if he hurts you then its only fair you........................ He wont like that!

We both seem better today im glad to say hope you all are having an ok day. Even my mad dog managed to play with the others this morning without a fight. And the gate man came and started the job of making our gates electric ( save us struggling in and out of car) we have waited 6 months for him, he has now gone somewhere, I hope it is not another 6 months before he comes back! we have to keep gates shut cause of mad dogs, actually i think this might just be a mad house, lol all the best leisha

FormerMember over 15 years ago

Hi Crystal
I don’t know what we can do over this tiredness except do as Ben has said and go to bed early, the thing is I am already just going to work and then falling asleep when I get home. I hope things are now good in the tooth department, when my dentist saw me last I kept falling asleep in the chair, I looked so bad at the time I don’t think he thought I would live to see out the guarantee on my new crowns, I am very lucky my dentist and his nurse are really great and we always manage to have a bit of laugh, especially when it comes to the bill.

Ben
I won’t degenerate this thread by making sheep jokes as we may get into trouble with the vetting police. I hope your appointment on Tuesday at the hospital goes well and there isn’t any difficult news for you to handle.

Hi Leisha
I hope your gate problem is now solved, and the local neighbourhood dogs are not running a muck all over the house.

Steve

crystalclear over 15 years ago

Hi Ben
Hope you’ve had a relaxing weekend, possibly visiting beautiful places with Sharon. I’ll be thinking of you on Tuesday when you go for your scan, try not to worry and I will be keeping my fingers crossed that everything is fine. I hope you don’t have too long to wait for the results, but as you’re going privately I imagine they will be pretty prompt. Take good care. xx

Hi Steve
Have you been away again as you haven’t posted for a few days? I hope all is well and that fatigue and dumping aren’t taking their toll too much. I laughed about your remark to Ben about sheep. I also had a good laugh about your story regarding your crowns. My dentist said that there was many months of work to be done on my teeth so I asked if he could get a move on so that I might get some benefit out of them. Hope all is ok. xx

Hi Leisha
How are you and Brian doing? I hope the dumping is under control, along with your mad dog. I’ve had two bouts of really bad dumping recently and the main cause was a meal high in carbos, followed by sweet things. All my own fault, as I know that this combination is really bad news. I forgot to mention that Brian might like to try a particular cereal bar, which is not only full of natural ingredients, but is so tasty that I often eat them throughout the day. However, the main thing is, that for me at any rate, it never gives me dumping so I often have them for breakfast and as snacks. It’s called Eat Natural and it’s the one in the purple wrapper. xx

Hi Nora
I’m thinking you are possibly sitting by that pool in France now. Enjoy. xx

A lovely evening to All looking in.
Love Crystal xx

FormerMember over 15 years ago

Hi Crystal , Steve, and Leisha,

Great news!!! Had my colonoscopy this afternoon and it was all clear yeah. So we dined out to celebrate and I slept all the way home in e in the car - what a weight off the shoulders. Only have the bone scan next monday to come out the same way and it will be back to making hay full time. My brother asked how I handled the "prep"for the c/scopy to clear out the system and I had to tell him the frequent trips to the ""shouse" were pretty much the norm for ivor lewis graduates!!!
I am so excited with the result that I cant sleep. Don't think I have told you I also have develpoed "frozen shoulder" which has developed over the past 5 weeks and I'm on paracetemol codeine and oxycontin on a regular schedule which I'm not happy about (well I am after the oxycontin!!) but need it to keep the pain at bay. It's a bit of a wait and see for this which is the only thing holding me back at present.
All the best of recovery to you all.
As the song goes "What a difference a day makes"
Cheers
Ben.

crystalclear over 15 years ago

(((((Ben)))))
This is what I’ve been waiting to hear and it’s brilliant news. So thanks for not sleeping and coming here to share your great news. It will be an enormous relief so you must do some more celebrating. You did mention your frozen shoulder before I think. Does the doc know what caused it? One known cause is having the arm or shoulder kept in one position for and extended time. Well, it would have been like that during your surgery, but perhaps that is too long ago now to have been the cause. I’ve heard that a good treatment for that is a TENS unit which delivers a tiny electrical current to key nerve areas. Perhaps you can discuss this treatment with your doctor to see what he thinks. I’ve heard it does produce results.
Once again Ben, this is lovely news, I’m so happy I’m going to prance around the garden. xx

Hi Leisha and Hi Good Year
I hope all is well and that today is a good a day for you as well.

To Everyone looking in, have a warm and happy day.
Love Crystal xx

FormerMember over 15 years ago

hi Ben, FANTASTIC news, whats a frozen shoulder in comparison! yep i know I cant feel the pain.soz! Wow it is such good news, no wonder you cant sleep. well done.

We had sunday lunch at sons house but Ed didnt eat much. He is very up and down. Insists he is ok, stubborn or what. We go to Benidorm for a month, all being well, sept 7th. We have been going for 30 years and dont care if people knock it, we go all over, up and down the coast and in the mountains, there is so much variety we never tire of it.
I have to think of crystal when I say one of my favourite bars is on the Levante prom, a rock bar. Every wednesday afternoon in winter months an ancient rocker preforms and i love him. He has a white ponytail and watery eyes but can he make that guitar sing, oh yes! Crowds stop on the road outside and folk dance on the prom so even the police patrols cant get through, tramps rock swigging from their wine cartons and it is 3 hours of bliss. Loads or oldies thinking they are 18 again.
The mad dog has settled down considerably and the gate man returned today (after a 3 day tea break!) so now we have gates. They dont work as now we have to get an electrician to finish the job, but they look nice!
Sun and showers here but it makes the garden glow. Hope you are all having a good day, oops nearly forgot - what store do you get those cereal bars from crystal. ive tried morrisons and asda, no joy. many thanks, leisha x

FormerMember over 15 years ago

Hi Ben
The news you bring is what I have been hoping for, you’ve almost cracked it, only one more test to go and you have earned yourself a well earned break from the not knowing game. This shoulder problem as Crystal say’s is most likely down to the Ivor Lewis, which caused me absolute agony after the op and considerable pain for months afterwards, get Sharon to massage some deep heat ointment in for several days and see if that helps along with aforementioned suggestions, but you should make an effort to keep it mobilized possibly with the help of a physiotherapist or chiropractor.

Keep bringing us the good news,

Hi Crystal
Things are ok with me, but I have to come off shift work for a while as everything was getting a bit too much because continual tiredness. I have taken some days as leave and will see my surgeon on the 28 August to see if I can get some help with my eating in an endeavor to push up my energy levels, other than that I really don’t know how to fight this fatigue that blights us both.

Steve

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