One More Week To Surgery

Friday 10/10 went to visit surgeon about PET ( PET TUMOR IMAGING W/CONCURRENT CT LOCAL SKULL BASE TO MID THIGH) that morning and get a blood type & screen done. It was a final consult prior to the surgery in 10/21.

Results of PET were encouraging. Chemo worked to shrink the tumor. Nothing lit up on the scan.

Impression

1. Significantly decreased uptake within distal esophageal mass. 

2. There are new bilateral upper lobe nodular pulmonary opacities with mild associated uptake which are most likely infectious or inflammatory. 

3. Mildly increased uptake within multiple nonenlarged mediastinal nodes may be reactive. Recommend attention on follow-up.

This picture above is Willard getting the scoop on surgery from Dr Loewen. He’s going biking in Moab over the weekend and this week on vacay and promised not to break his wrist prior to surgery. Fingers crossed! He’s also a pilot. Tons of risk factors here and this surgery is no joke!

Today, 10/13, Willard had another upper endoscopy to further check for cancer and placement to help with next Tuesday’s surgery, esophogectomy. No getting out of it no matter how many times he asks!

We are happy for the great care team, oncologist, surgeon, and all. Everyone has been super helpful and answered all our questions.

We are both so grateful for all our friends and family and the support and love they have shown while we are going through this challenging time. We are both very thankful for the tasty food gifts along the way to try and fatten up my ever shrinking husband, the prayers, calls, kind words, check-ins, and visits have all been so important during this journey.

After his surgery next week it will change a lot of his eating habits. Up until now, the chemotherapy was the problem making him lose his taste and appetite. With the esoohigectomy, he will have a feeding tube for awhile and slowly have to go to soft foods and small amounts at a time as a result of removing 1/2 to 2/3rds of his esophagus and 1/2 his stomach and lymph nodes around that.

Esophageal cancer surgery recovery involves initial hospital stays of 7-14 days, followed by a gradual transition home. Key aspects include managing pain, performing breathing exercises, following a specialized diet of small, frequent meals, and gradually resuming light activity while avoiding strenuous tasks. Full recovery can take several months, and potential complications like infection or leaks require monitoring and sometimes further treatment.

Most people go back to work or their normal routine after 6 to 12 weeks. You will need more time to get better if you need other treatment for cancer, such as chemotherapy. It will take 3 to 4 months to get back to your usual activities. He will need 4 more rounds of chemo starting somewhere around a month after surgery Not super looking forward to that since he just now is starting to get his taste back after the first 4 rounds.

I did notice in the waiting room last week that his hair is just starting to grow back just in time to fall out again. But that’s a minor imposition compared with learning to eat all over again and maintain good nutrition, build back up muscle tone, and maintain energy!

He still has a long road to recovery and a cure but the news is all good so far Below is a photo from today’s endoscopy There is no sign of the cancer Just a small red spot Check out this before from 4 months ago vs today’s photo Dr Jorgensen is very good and happy with today’s results

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