Re: Hello Friends.... in Houston needs to talk to anyone who has done chemo

[Guest guest]

wrote

> I am most concerned about any

> studies that have been done on achalasia patients and chemo. Notan,

> are you out there, oh wise one???? Best wishes to all.

>

Hello, .

With the holidays and people in the group wishing each other well, I

wondered about you and some of the other old timers here (I don't mean

your age). Sorry you are not doing better.

Off the top of my head I can't think of anything I have read about chemo

and achalasia. I am not sure just what your concern is. I don't remember

if you had a wrap with your surgery. If you did, it may be worth telling

your doctors about it. People with esophageal cancer probably have chemo

at some point, even after surgery. I don't know if that helps you. Is

there something more specific I can look for.

notan

[Guest guest]

Notan,

Thanks for answering! For all in the group, here are my questions

at the moment. Perhaps some of you can think of more to ask the

gastro oncologist at MD . Remember, though, this is breast

cancer we are treating. Without further knowledge, it sounds like an

achalasian's worst nightmare. I hope I am wrong. A lot of people go

through chemo without too much trouble. I could be one of them and

might not know til I try it. On the other hand, it could be

disastrous for my quality of life if I do. I have a 78% chance of

survival past 10 years if I do NOTHING. It goes up to 88% if I do the

full protocol. What a decision. No matter which one I choose, I am

going to visualize myself in the survivor category.

So here is what I am wondering:

I wonder if the nerves are really dead in the " e " for achalasians, or

if cancer treatment could make nerve damage to the " e " worse. And I

wonder about perforation of the " e " lining because of it. And would

I have like a likelong spasm because of it???? Also, how certain can

we be that radiation will miss my " e " ? I can ask the radiologist that

last one. At least I will have state of the art equipment and state

of the art technicians. I feel so darn healthy and safe right now.

It's like stepping off a cliff.

>

> wrote

>

>

> > I am most concerned about any

> > studies that have been done on achalasia patients and chemo. Notan,

> > are you out there, oh wise one???? Best wishes to all.

> >

>

> Hello, .

>

> With the holidays and people in the group wishing each other well, I

> wondered about you and some of the other old timers here (I don't mean

> your age). Sorry you are not doing better.

>

> Off the top of my head I can't think of anything I have read about

chemo

> and achalasia. I am not sure just what your concern is. I don't

remember

> if you had a wrap with your surgery. If you did, it may be worth

telling

> your doctors about it. People with esophageal cancer probably have

chemo

> at some point, even after surgery. I don't know if that helps you. Is

> there something more specific I can look for.

>

> notan

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I can't offer any advice on your current situation. I just wanted

to say hello and offer my best wishes as you embark on this new

challenge in your life. I remember very well when you had your

myotomy and would post from your bed because you somehow had the

internet connected to your tv. It was very entertaining. I was at

my worst with achalasia and still pursuing options for treatment and

you gave me a lot of hope that it would get better if I persevered.

I had a myotomy done in Toronto 1 year ago this past December and I

too have had complete success with it. I can eat anything and don't

even need an unusual amount of fluid to get it down. I just eat a

little more slowly than those around me. The only down side is the

weight gain after years of deprivation to eating normally.

I hope you get some useful advice, as always Notan seems to be the

most knowledgeable and balanced on his advice. All the best to you.

Liz

Cambridge, Ontario.

>

> HI Everyone,

> It's been a long time since I was here on this board. My life

> after my surgery concerning achalasia has been wonderful. Four

years

> out of surgery, I am very stable, can eat virtually anything.

Steak

> and spaghetti require milk as the " push it down liquid " simply

because

> it weighs more than water, but with everything else, I just drink

the

> usual liquids and I am fine. I sleep flat, have just occasional

> spasms. I still highly recommend the surgery and my surgeon Dr.

> Reardon in HOuston if you are sitting on the fence about

> surgery. I walked out of the hospital the following day without

even

> a sore throat, and I got my life back.

> BUT, now I am facing a new challenge. I have stage 2 breast

> cancer. I have had my small tumor excised with clear margins, but

it

> was microsopically in two of the five centinal nodes. I had

another

> surgery 3 weeks later to have the rest of my lymph nodes removed on

> that side. I am doing well after surgery, had no complications,

and

> have already regained the ability to stretch my arm up straight

over

> my head pretty easily. Now, I am faced with treatment option

decision

> time. The best protocol for my long term survival is to do chemo,

> followed by radiation, and then hormonal therapy. The whole

speel. I

> am most interested to talk to anyone in this group who has had to

face

> breast cancer and chemo. I want to know how your esophagus fared

> longterm on the chemo. I am at MD Cancer Center in

Houston,

> one of the best in the world. My doctors are parents of children I

> teach! I feel very lucky that it was caught early, but since there

> was small lymph involvement, I must now tackle the chemo to have

the

> best results. I know everyone reacts differently to chemo, you

can't

> say that just because one person threw up on it for days that

nobody

> should do it. I have friends who have actually breezed through it,

> kept working, and then I have friends who have been sick the whole

> time. It's a huge decision. I know I can live through feeling

like

> crap and then recovering in time, but I am most concerned about any

> studies that have been done on achalasia patients and chemo.

Notan,

> are you out there, oh wise one???? Best wishes to all.

> in Houston

>