Hi.
My husband (66) had a bit of a problem swallowing food, felt like it was stuck in his chest. Prescribed omeprazole by GP but ineffective ,and was sent for an endoscopy. We assumed maybe an ulcer . On 28th Dec we were told they had a found a large tumour at the bottom of his oesophagus, and they were 90% certain it was cancerous, they took biopsies and he had a CT scan. Fast forward to 5th Jan, and all test results were in, we had a meeting with the consultant, and we were told that yes it was lower oesphagal cancer, the ct scan also showed 5 or 6 lymph nodes at the side of his stomach were infected ( is that the right term? I don't know) , and that they had found a node in his lung, which they hadn't expected. They told us treatment will either be a stent and chemo or palliative care with no treatment, he isn't a candidate for chemoradiation /surgery as he has few other health concerns ( double amputee/diabetic/heart conditions). When asked about timescale, she said months, maybe a year, but she didn't look confident on either. He has to have a PET scan in a few days, and I'm so worried that it's going to be bad. This has all come as a shock. My husband seems to be taking it all much better than I am, his attitude is very much " it is what it is"...and " what happens...happens" . Any advice? I don't want sugar coating ( how ever well meant), I can and do cope extremely well in a crisis, but I need to know what we're facing. I've googled to the point where I just can't google anymore!
Thank you for reading this x
Hi Morgannah and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but sorry to hear about your husbands diagnosis.
A cancer diagnosis in the family can be such a challenging and stressful time but getting support from others who are dealing with the ‘exact same' cancer type and support challenges will help a lot (I have a totally different type of cancer)
The New to Community is like our reception desk where we look to direct you to the best part of the Community for you to get support. The Community is divided into dedicated Cancer Support Groups (Discussion Rooms) but I can see that you have already joined our dedicated Gullet (oesophagus) cancer support group. This is a safe place to talk to others who may have a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support from family members who are navigating the same support journey.
As for the practical and emotional challenges of supporting your husband and yourself you may benefit from joining and posting in our Carers only and Supporting someone with incurable cancer support groups where you will connect with others navigating the exact same support challenges.
To connect with a group click on the “Bold Italic Links” I have created above then once the group page opens click on “Click to Join” when the black banner appears or “Join” under “Group Tools” (this all depends on the device you are using)
You can then put up your own post when you’re ready by clicking “+new” or “+” in the top right next to the group title. You can copy and paste the text from this post into your new post.
It’s a challenging time for you so you may want to use the Macmillan Support Line is open 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00. This service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support, benefits/financial guidance or just a listening ear.
We also have our Ask an Expert section but do allow a few working days for a reply.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community.
