Dear colon clubbers: As I approach the 5 year mark on my diagnosis of rectal CA, I'm now on the caregiver side for my dear husband. My condition is NED.
DH was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of mid-esophagus on Dec. 21, 2015. January was a blur of CT scans, EUS, PET scans etc. He has a Stage IV esophageal cancer. Unresectable as of now with mets to T5 vertebral body. Not good but we won't look at the stats on this one.
He had longtime GERD and Barrett's esophagus which was well controlled for last 12 years. Just had clean EGD scope on Oct. 14, 2015. He is a smoker.
T4 tumor one year later and not at all in the area of Barrett's . All the doc's we saw from August until December for worrisome symptoms (per me, his wife) of back pain, and abnormal, excessive burps never once thought he should have another EGD immediately. Instead they did the usual protocol for months: EKG, nuclear stress test to rule out heart disease, gall bladder removal, orthopedic doc said osteoarthritis of upper back after lateral CT of spine. Physical therapy. Chiro's & DO's all said musculoskeletal. Not until he had drenching night sweats and swallowing problems did they rush to biopsy his esophagus. End of story.
He's had Carbo/Taxol - 3 infusions once per week so far. I asked ONC if carboplatin would have similar symptoms as oxaliplatin used in FOLFOX which I had done, and I was surprised when he said carbo was not as harsh! Radiation everyday began last Mon.
Keeping his weight stable at 180 lbs will be my challenge. Our hope is that he will have complete response after 6-7 wks. Then a rest......then PET scan. Possible surgery if nothing lights up on PET after a period of time.
There are miracles out there and new drugs are on the horizon such as Keytruda that look promising for squamous cell carcinomas.
My sincere best wishes for everyone who is going through tough surgeries, chemo regimens, etc.......this year. Take one day at a time.
Loving caregiver now.