David Everett Hinz is sick in Bay Shore, LI NY USA

[deveretth]

This is what i looked like when i was healthy and happy with family. I have deteriorated.I've lost more than 90 lbs and diagnosed with Adencarcinoma Cancer in my lower Esophogus and upper Stomach. I feel sick. i have a meeting with a surgeon June 8th for a Peg Tube placement. I can't swollow solid food with the inflamations. I have a liquid diet now. My 3 Pet Scans are all abnormal and getting worse. I am currently undergoing Chemotherapy using Oxaliplatia, Fluorouaril with Pre Meds of Bendedryl, Decadon and Pepsid. to help control nausea. it seems to last a few days and then i feel sick again. Some days my chest hurts in the Esophogus and upper Stomach area. I have a very bad soar throat. I feel nausea. I feel weak and don't have much energy to be active doing anything. I don't know what to do? Do you have any insight on this? So far Surgery has not been recommended. What i read and watch on You Tube with google.com would be devastating. I am located in Bay Shore, Long Island, NY USA using local facilities and medical services. Southside Hospital and Hematology Oncology Associates of Western Suffolk and Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip NY. Stony Brook University Cancer Center located at the Medical Center. I wish there were Alternatives?

David

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[AoifeMcC]

I do not know if this helps but I was on similar chemo - I had it with the 'hope of surgery' which I had a few weeks after my final chemo - I had squamous cell.

Best wishes.

[gutlesswonder]

David

The only thing that pulled me through was the determination that my two year old needed and would have a Dad. That was twenty five years ago.

Get to the best specialist centre you can, if only for a second opinion.

Do it for her.

We are thinking of you.

[chris_usa]

I know that travel is difficult, but it is possible that a tertiary care center with General Thoracic surgeons that have experience in difficult esophageal cases may be able to offer you either potentially curative options or better palliative care.

I chose the Cleveland Clinic. Massachusetts General, Pittsburgh, Mayo Clinic, Michigan, or Johns Hopkins would also be great choices.

Check your insurance and see what they may cover for out of state or out of network payment. It is worth going to one of the above or similar if for no other reason than to know that you have done all you can. \wc

[Hidden]

The potential curative treatment by surgery all depends on the TNM analysis of the cancer (T=stage of the tumour; N lymph node involvement; M=metastatic spread). Your oncologist would be the one to have a discussion with if the side effects of what you are being given are disproportionate; people react to this medication in different ways and tolerance levels. A surgeon would want to know how you have reacted to the chemotherapy and what the scans show.

Some surgical centres are more experienced than others, and it is always natural to want to chase a 'magical' cure that may be available in another place, but undergoing curative surgery when there is not a realistic chance of an eventual positive outcome is not always a good thing. An experienced surgeon once told me of the bitter disappointment expressed by a patient whose cancer had just returned a year or so after all the difficulties of recovering from the surgery, when the patient then regretted ever going in for the surgery in the first place because it had lost him quality of life for his remaining time with us.

There may be ways in which your nausea can be partly resolved.

Nobody feels great during this treatment, and I think a great many people wonder some, or all, of the time whether it is going to be worth it. The problem is that you may well not know your eventual outcome yet.

Try and keep your nutrition intake up by whatever means you can.

You do not have to be cheerful, but this diagnosis does put life into perspective and you have to come to terms with things, and try and think as positively as you can about what you are facing. Many people need help with this by talking to a trained counsellor about the uncertainty; your family are important too, as they will also have their worries. The aim is to try and achieve the best quality of life you can for however many months and years you have left, whether it is 30 weeks or 30 years. People often say that they find strength that they never knew they had.

With our very best wishes

Alan

[kiddy]

HI David I too have had the same cancer as you i had three lots of chemo ECX lasting 21 days cycle. I was lucky to have surgery which was a big op (tumour 1/4 stomach). I was offered this or chemoradiotherapy which isn't a curative. I am post op on chemo for 3 cycles again. Chemo is not pleasant and i have had nearly all the side affects. I had a jejonostomy fitted for the operation which i was fed on. This tube remains in until end of chemo PET scan. Remain positive. I find writing a diary is useful on how you are feeling each day, that way you can judge what days are bad for you each cycle. Good Luck .Debbie