Is this treatable

More than treatable, it’s curable, depending on how early it is caught, of course.

I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in October 2013 and had surgery in February 2014 after a a few rounds of chemotherapy. (That’s 2,744 days ago)

I live a fairly normal life. Ok the recovery from the major surgery was long but the normality is not too bad. I have travelled extensively (for pleasure) during the last seven years, but taking a rest from that for a while now.

I am one of the lucky ones. I count my blessings and I’m grateful. There are more successes as treatments are improved. A lot has changed since my surgery: the chemo regimes have changed for better outcomes and recovery times have shortened.

I wouldn’t say OC is nothing to worry about, but it has been clinically proven it pays to remain positive.

hi thanks for this we are waiting now for all the results this has turned our lives upside down waiting to see if had spread can i ask you what your symptons were please

Yes, the waiting for all the tests and scans to be done is a nightmare! And when things don’t happen as fast as you had expected you have to chase through the specialist nurse, who you should have on speed dial. It is normal for their calls to go to voicemail, but they do ring back and are good at making things happen.

I found it very useful to keep a notebook for telephone numbers, dates, appointments, meetings, questions and answers. I kept mine up all through my recovery.

I had had chronic indigestion (reflux) all my adult life. I would get through six Rennes a day, and gas is on at night time. I had been taking ppi’s (lanzoprazole) for about 15 years before I had occasional difficulty swallowing. A gastroscopy two weeks later, with the devastating news that there was a tumour in my oesophagus. This was a year into retirement and a few months before my son’s wedding. You can imagine what was going through my mind. But two sons’ weddings and three granddaughters later, I couldn’t be happier. (Apart from the pandemic)

So there are lots of reliable sources of information (Dr Google isn’t one of them). Macmillan do a good booklet on oesophageal cancer, and it is possible that your hospital have leaflets too.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of staying positive. Seek help and support where you can - people want to be supportive and practical help is easy to come by - walking the dog, cooking a meal, driving you to appointments.

Keep posting here. There are lots of people contributing to this forum with a wide range of experiences.

thanks for this did you lose wait and did they know how long it was there my husband has lost a stone and half he has only been having trouble swallowing around 3 month sorry about all the questions do you know where i get the leaflet on it thanks yes google has petrified me totally

I didn’t start to lose weight until after my diagnosis. I lost a couple of stone over time but put it back slowly during my recovery. One of the worst things I did was stop going to the gym, so I lost fitness. You need to stay fit and maintain your weight as far as possible.

I think you can order the Macmillan booklet on line, or just ring the help line and they’ll send you a pack.

Remember that statistics of any kind cannot be applied to an individual case nor can they predict the future. Being a scientist I can understand this, but I know it’s difficult for most people to accept.

Thanks for that I wish I had a crystal ball

Did you feel tired and unwell before you got diagnosed

www.macmillan.org.uk/.../understanding-oesophageal-cancer

Hello Stalis,

As BrentS has said stay as positive as possible, and reach out here whenever you need to chat.

HERE you will find the Macmillan information on OC . Hope that helps.

Lowe'

Thanks it's so raw at the moment