Terrified

Sorry to read your post. Many on the forum have been able to have curative treatment, which seems to involve chemo and surgery. I have my fingers crossed for you that the problems you describe are not caused by cancer. The waiting is the worst part but Macmillan are a great source of support, as well as everyone on this forum.

I know you'll be brave for your family xxx

Hi Mese,

My first piece of advice would be to stay away from Google. There is little comfort to be found there. Everyone’s case is slightly different and you won’t know where you stand until various scans and procedures have taken place. At the moment, you are thinking the worst (as I did too at your stage) but you don’t have a diagnosis yet. I do hope that it is not cancer but, if it is, then there are many people on this forum who have been successfully treated for it. I hope that I am one of them. I won’t tell you not to worry because of course you will. Hopefully you will get your results back quickly. The waiting for results is always difficult. Keep in touch. CB

Hi Mese 

So sorry you find yourself in this situation .It’s two years since we found ourselves in the same scenario with my husband .Looking back to then I think the waiting was definitely the worst part .Unfortunately for him it was confirmed as oesophageal cancer but he’s still here to tell the story and up to now alls looking good  ….It’s natural to worry but I would suggest keeping an open mind until you’ve had all the tests etc and you know for sure what is going on .We found not thinking too far ahead and living one day at a time helped tremendously during those waiting times .

Wishing you all the best 

regards  J 

Thank you for your replies. I definitely think the limbo of not knowing what I'm facing is what's difficult. 

Can I ask how long it took you/your loved ones to get an endoscopy once you were referred? 

Were most people here diagnosed because of symptoms I'm guessing?

Thank you 

My only symptom was a feeling that something was stuck in my throat, making swallowing more difficult. When I went to my GP, he referred me for an endoscopy but warned me that the waiting .time could be up to 6 weeks! I therefore made a private appointment with a GE specialist and had an endoscopy and CT scan 2 days later (with the results back 5 days after that) Not good news for me, I’m afraid.  I know this may not be an option for everyone but I feel that this decision brought my treatment forward by a couple of months and potentially saved my life by putting me on a curative pathway. If this is the case, then it was the best money I ever spent! CB

Morning ! 
From our experience, once the referral was put through everything happened pretty quickly One appointment followed another .I have to add though that it was five months before my husband was definitively diagnosed ..Long story which involved four endoscopies and  two hospital admissions as his symptoms were severe at the time but once confirmed and the treatment kicked in it was uninterrupted and he had lots of excellent care and support from his medical team throughout it all .This  was just his experience of course and most people are diagnosed pretty quickly .

Regards J 

My husband was having increasing discomfort swallowing certain food, starting with apples, for about 5/6 weeks. He went to the GP on a Tuesday and had an emergency referral for the endoscopy on the Friday, confirming the GP's suspicions that it was Oesophageal Cancer, with a tumour at the junction with the stomach.

Had you got an appointment date for the endoscopy before going private? I'd definitely consider private but would be annoying to pay out so much money if an NHS  endoscopy will happen soon. I looked at my local private place and the first consultation isn't until 5/12, so I'd like to think NHS will beat that. I could go further afield though if it's going to be a long wait. Thanks for your messages, it's helpful to hear personal experiences.

I'm so sorry that it took so long and your husband had to go through so much before getting a diagnosis. That must have been so stressful! Again, thank you for your perspective, really helpful.

I'm keep everything crossed that this is the sort of timeline I'm looking at. Did treatment start quickly after diagnosis for your husband? I'm totally jumping ahead of myself but as a lone parent to a very young child I need to have some plans in mind for what happens if I need treatment etc. I hope that treatment is working well for your husband!