Hello

Hi unicorn, a sad welcome to the forum.

Like you I was knocked over by a cancer diagnosis. I thought I just had inflammation or an ulcer...lol

I hope you get a good result after all your tests. It was a three week wait for me to see my surgeon. It's a lot of time to have thinking about what could be. 

Good luck going forward. I was just at hospital yesterday for my heart stress test which I passed ok. Onward to my staging laparoscopy next Friday. Based on that I will know if I can be operated on or not.

Take care of yourself Pal.

Thank you,just the appt to the Christie is stressing me out because it's starting to feel real. I've got to go to work this weekend to take all my gear out of my truck. I'm hoping that the lump can be removed ,that it hasn't spread too far and can be treated.

Good luck back to you and take care Pal 

The waiting for feedback from the surgeon is awful. Your mind fills in the all the blanks and obviously you fear the worst possible news.

Try to keep positive and busy while you wait. There are lots of good news stories on here.

Update:- had the PET/CT scan and was waiting to find out results. Macmillan nurse phoned and said surgeon at Salford Royal was undecided on operating. Wednesday I had a phone call about appt to sign treatment consent forms at Salford. Turned out to be full pre-op and surgeon finally explained everything. He was amazed that no-one had told me any results and also that I hadn't been referred to a dietician!!

I'm booked to have laparoscopy and wash out on Tuesday morning. Also having feeding tube put in to take pressure off swallowing. All being well I'll be out on Thursday. 

• Then I'm apparently booked for 8 weeks of chemo,surgery and another 8 weeks of chemo. I feel a lot happier now I know exactly what's happening .Even though the tumour is at stage 3,my surgeon seems ite optimistic about full recovery

Hi Unicorn,

I really don't get all the variations between hospitals and counties. I know we are all different and have various other things going on but you would think there would be a fundamentally common approach.

You would think that in today's computerised age your records would be in one secure file. Yet every appointment I attend they ask about allergies, medication, age, etc etc etc. Like you say about your surgeon being surprised that no one has told you stuff. Whoever gets OC is primarily worried about the outcome, whether they will survive, etc. I knew nothing about the condition but they expect you to ask appropriate questions, I need them to explain in laymen's terms what the hell is going on at every step. Why all the waiting in between things. I have to wait 5 weeks to see oncologist due to all the bank holidays! Why don't they just put me on chemo and I'll chat with oncologist later. So disjointed, it's hard to believe.

Moan over.

Good luck going forward and your recovery.

My husband had his laparoscopy and esophagectomy surgery at the Salford Royal and his chemo at The Christie ..His surgeons were Mr Preston and Mrs Farooq ..and his oncologist at The Christie was Dr Waddell .You are in excellent hands ..The staff are wonderful …Wishing you all the best with everything ..regards J 

Hi

As Geo said..sorry that you're going through this. Like you I thought it would be an ulcer or similar. I was shocked to find that it was cancer.  

First bit of advice - stay off Google. Those are generally old stats that are repeated on various websites. 

Not  knowing is the really hard bit. So best to ask team for next steps. Generally,  the endoscopy with biopsies will be followed by CT scan, PET scan, laproscopy and the bike test. Once these are done they can stage the tumour and this will go to a multidisciplinary team meeting where your treatment path will be decided. Don't be afraid to get in touch with the nurses and talk ask questions. 

Fir now as Geo said, just keep yourself busy. There are many positive stories of recovery so do keep those in mind.

Take care  

Suzy

Hi Suzy,I have the bike test next Friday June 9th, two appts at Christie on the 5th for bloods and outpatient? A telephone appt for the 6th June with exercise plan??,  Then plan is for 8 weeks of chemo,surgery and a further 8 weeks of chemo .