Hi, 

unfortunatley I can't offer any advice regarding oeasohagal issues. 
Hate reading chat pages that don't get any comments as people often cling to any information shared I know I do. 
Lots of other people going through similar situations.

Is your mum managing to eat and drink ok? Weight loss? Ask GP for prescribed Food drink supplements as need to keep strength. 

My dad was 59 and given diagnosis of prostate cancer with no treatment plan other than injections every 3months -I know it's a different area of cancer i know. They suggested my dads life span would be 2-3years and he lived for 8. Passed away aged 67. My mam was diagnosed with lung cancer and died aged 66. So I know where your coming from. My mam was offered chemo but then doctors suggested she was too frail as her cancer had advanced.

Try and stay positive till you know what your dealing with. Might not be anything to worry about after all.

However I've got breast cancer and I've been Thinking the worst outcome and anything better is a bonus.

Do you think if she needed surgery she would be ok with that??  Might need to do biopsy or different tests to tell

more information.

My friends dad had something similar and he needed his oesophagus stretching and then stenting.

Make note of any questions. types/ score/

plan/ appoitment timescale. Recovery etc etc 

Make sure she has someone with her to listen in to what they say. 

keeping fingers and toes crossed for Monday 

Efffie x

It means the world to me that you've replied Effie, thank you.

I am sorry that you've been so heavily affected by this, however your parents both sound like true fighters and I know that you will be too.

She has told me she will go through treatment regardless and I will stay by her side and go to the consultation x

She hasn't lost weight which is the hope I am clinging onto and she can eat/drink ok at the moment. I think I need to keep remembering this as a good sign xxxx

Hi, 

How did your mum get on with her appoitments??

Are you any further forward with news ? More Tests ?? 
 

much love 
Efffie x

Hello Thank you so much for checking in. We have the consultation this afternoon xxx

It's grade 3 and the CT scan has shown 2 lymph nodes on either side that it could have spread to. They've explained if this is the case then it's not curable. The PET scan, EUS and ultrasound with biopsy will confirm. I feel as though this is the equivalent to when they said its likely malignant at the endoscopy though but they don't want to confirm without a biopsy. I didnt realise even just spreading to 4 lymph nodes meant its not curable

Shes got a mixture of both types of cancer too. 

Can people not sugar coat this and please help me know what possible outcomes to expect from here

Hi,

Sorry I missed your first posts, I don't come on here too often these days as I'm working almost full time again.

Try not to get too freaked out by words like incurable or palliative. These can carry a lot of emotional weight but need to be set in context. I heard both terms when my Mam was diagnosed and a few years later when I was. Both were scary in so many ways. 

A lot of cancer treatments are intended to shrink the cancer, stop it from growing, stop it from spreading or a combination of these outcomes.

Palliative care aims to control the symptoms, in particular reducing pain, without dealing with the cause of the condition. 

I would never sugar coat this, but cancer outcomes are hard to predict even for the medical experts. Any estimates of life expectancy are based on averages and, as was emphasised by a professor at a cancer research conference I attended a few years ago, "these work well for groups of hundreds of patients but shouldn't be used for individuals". The problem is, we all do it as there's nothing else available. By definition almost 50% of patients will survive longer than average and almost 50% not so long. 

I'm an extreme example of how wrong a received prognosis can be - though in a good way. In 2013 I was diagnosed with OC at stage 4 and given a prognosis of between 2 and 6 months without chemo and up to 2 years with chemo. The chemo was part of a palliative care plan and I was lucky enough to respond unusually well.

I hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you like.

Good luck

Dave 

Dave, through my research I came across your profile last week. In the guide I made my mum with information and positive stories - I shared yours. From what I saw on your profile. Every time she said but... I said. Look at Daves story. You've been an incredible source of inspiration already and I love that you've reached out!

Hey 19291, 

I too rarely come on to the general pages these days. I post on another board where all the Oesophageals are - well I'm sure not all, but many of us. All at different stages of treatment and loads of different types of treatment plans.

Paaliative is a bit of term that implies 'terminal', nope palliative means 'management of a chronic condition'. Many fellow travellers are paaliative, some were palliative at the start and are now disease free!!

We have named it the 'oesophageal cancer club' , we are all either victims or watchers. A cheeky name, but you know , when faced with something like this, after the shock, what else can you do but take it on. None of us are medics, just fellow travellers living the dream !

I am a watcher, my 56 yr old husband diagnosed ,out of the blue in July 20. We have completed treatment ( for now- I always say that, not tempting fate!) and he is 'visable disease free'. Although he does need a hernia repair in the next few weeks.

If you click my blue 'hilts' to the left of this post, you will find my followed discussions, join us on the RayB one.

For what it's worth, this is the very worst part of the whole thing- the diagnosis. Once a full picture and plan are in place, it gets slightly better.

The internet is a total horror show! LOL, but we all do it (:
Rest assured you are not alone.

Hi Davek, hope you are keeping well and smashing it everyday (:

best wishes and keep the faith

Hilts

Thank you so much I'll tell my mum too xx 

I'm doing OK thanks

"No visible signs" works for me. Mentally, I'll never feel cancer free as I know that it only takes one invisible cell for the rollercoaster ride to start again.