The cancer is back in the liver

[Essie]

Esophageal cancer was diagnosed, chemotherapy and radiation were prescribed. Then came surgery of the esophagus. After that was post operative chemo. Everything read well with no spread to the nodes and clean margins. However, on his first CT scan and PET scan after the treatment, it shows that he has a lesion on his liver. Where and what to do next??? The family is in shock. He is 56 years old, no smoking, very occasional drinker. We just got back from the hospital where they biopsied the lesion and it is cancer. Give us some place to researh or look for statistics. Thanks, Ba.

[JackieG]

I am sorry to hear that the person you refer to (I assume it is your husband or father) has recurrent esophageal cancer. I am an EC patieant and know how devastating that news must be.  You ask for statistics, and to my knowledge, there is not a ready source of statistics for recurrent EC. Even if there were, I would suggest that you ignore them for two reasons: (1) each person and his/her situation is different, and (2) statistics describe a large population only, and are not meaningful for one individual. Concentrate on aggressive treatment for the liver METS and forget the statistics.

I strongly urge that you join a specific internet support group that currently has 1,160 members. It is a great source of support and information for both patients and caregivers. You don't have to deal with this horrible disease in isolation. The support group is free, and you can find it by the following path:

Go to site:  http://www.acor.org
At that site click on "Mailing Lists"
There, pick "Browse alphabetically" and click on "E".
The 3rd List from the top is entitled "EC-GROUP", click there and you will find "join or leave the List". Click that and you are ready to join.

Please join!! The members are VERY knowledgable, compassionate and responsive. You can just read the postings , or you can post your own questions (or both). It is user-friendly, and I can guarantee you that there are members there right know who have dealt with or are dealing with the very issues you are now dealing with. I suggest that you post a profile announcing you've joined the Group. The site prompts you how to do so, and you will immediately be welcomed in to a Group unconditionally that understands the stresses, fears, challenges and pain you are experiencing.

I wish you and the person you are posting on behalf of all the best.

My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

I hope to talk to you soon in the EC-GROUP.

Best regards,
Chicken Soup