Anyone know something about esophageal cancer?

[hifiguy]

A good friend, whom I have known for 40 years, was just diagnosed with it; he's only 52 and it was a terrible shock to his wife and friends. The little research I have done does not look good at all.

[ohiosmith]

1. A friend in Calgary had it several years ago. He went through several courses of radiation and

chemo. He has been free of it now for something like five or six years. Good luck to your friend.

[HopeHoops]

2. It's quick. Say good-bye.

[KamaAina]

3. That's what Hitchens had

[undeterred]

4. Its one of those body parts you really need although you never think about it.

[LNM]

5. I don't know anything about esophageal cancer, but I do know that if it's early they can use PDT

to treat it. I've had it done for oral cancer.
PM me if you like.
http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/TreatmentTypes/photodynamic-therapy

[Moondog]

6. I've known two guys who got it. Neither one

beat it. It's a pretty bad way to go. My sympathies to you and your friend.

[Aristus]

7. Chronic acid reflux is a risk factor.

It can lead to a condition called Barrett's esophagus, which is a pre-cancerous condition. If you have persistent acid reflux, get it evaluated.

[abbeyco]

8. It took a friend of mine in less than 6 months

Peace and good thoughts to your friend and you. I hope you can spend lots of time together while he fights this disease.

My friend was diagnosed in Sept and passed in January. Being an Italian and son of a wonderful cooking Mom, he most missed eating and tasting - and then lost all interest in food. I still miss him today.

[NNadir]

10. My father and my uncle both died from it.

My uncle was about your friend's age when it happened.

Both my father and my uncle were heavy smokers and it is, generally, related to smoking. However there are also environmental causes. For reasons that are not entirely clear, the disease is very common in certain regions of Pakistan. Clearly however, even in the presence of irritants and toxins like tobacco smoke, there is a genetic component.

Both men had esophogeal surgery; my uncle lived about 5 years, my father less than one, after contracting the disease.

Neither man could eat very well after the surgery, and both lost tremendous amounts of weight before dying. Both also developed lung cancer toward the end; I never learned the cell types.

My uncle came to live with my father after his divorce and so I saw some of his experience first hand, as I lived with the two of them for a while. I would say that my uncle had three or four years with a decent quality of life. On the other hand, I wish my father didn't have the surgery and had simply accepted the inevitable, which he had to do in any case.

This was some time ago, and treatment options may be better than they were then.

I do not know your or your friend's (or his family's) general level of scientific understanding, but a good approach would be to go to a library and find out what the generalized prognosis is in order to make informed decisions. I only did this toward the end of my father's life, his last one or two months. I wish I had done it earlier so that I could have been a better advisor to him.

Cancer is not a single disease, and often there are several disease states even within a single tumor. Nothing is therefore cut and dry, but please accept my best wishes and condolences.

[hifiguy]

11. Thanks for the info.

It pretty much confirms my independent research. My friend is "late stage 3," according to his brother, so things look pretty grim. He has been a smoker - sometimes heavy - for 35 years. Gads, I am glad I never picked up that habit.

[meow2u3]

12. Esophageal cancer killed my dad

This was back in 1989.