“In December 2021 I had a phone call from an old boss who had become a long-time friend. He announced to me that he had developed oesophageal cancer. Like a lot of people when it comes to the ‘C’ word unless you are directly affected by the disease you tend to shy away from the subject or bury your head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich. I remember at the time thinking “oh my god, how do you treat that! Can you treat that?”

In May the following year I was on holiday in Greece when I received a phone call from his wife informing me of his demise. Obviously shocked and saddened I continued to recall the good times we had and memories as you do in those times.

You can imagine my absolute shock in October 2023 when I was diagnosed with the exact same thing! It was picked up on a routing annual blood test for diabetes and the only symptoms I had was feeling giddy when exerting myself, which had been ongoing for about 6 months. I put this down to dehydration and didn’t think much else of it. I subsequently had problems swallowing food but never linked the 2 things, I know different now of course. I had always suffered from heartburn to a lesser degree, but no more than what I considered fairly normal as it was easily maintained with off the shelf remedies.

Even until I was diagnosed I never thought it would turn out the way it did. I wasn’t particularly overweight, not smoked for 20 years and still reasonably active. Quite simply I never felt unwell or sick. In fact I often got comments on how well I looked, which I put down to hypertension of which I had been a subscriber for about 10 years.

On Monday the 8th April 2024 I underwent my robotic Oesophagostomy which was a daunting thought. After a few days in ICU and a couple on the ward all wires and tubes removed; off home I went to start to long process of recovery.

I would imagine everyone deals with it in their own way, being single I predominantly needed to lean on my kids and a few close friends. I have to say a half hour call with Graham really helped as well (thank you Graham). A second round of chemo followed and finally 5 weeks of radiotherapy with the ultimate outcome of beating this unwanted guest once and for all. 2024 was a challenging year.

My way of dealing with this unfortunate situation personally was and is to take it one step at a time and try not to become overwhelmed, bite sized chunks worked for me, from PICC line installation to chemotherapy to radiotherapy. There is so much information and learning to do it is easy to become swamped and that just makes the anxiety worse. Another important thing is to take someone with you to the more important meetings as you are bombarded with information. I recall a meeting in the early days where a statement was made and I completely missed it. Luckily my daughter and son were with me and they confirmed what was actually said.

They will tell you “don’t google it” which is one of the best pieces of advice offered. We all know google can be really useful sometimes, but remember there is so much commercial rubbish and nutters out there on the web and socials that it will only worry and frustrate you unnecessarily. If you need to ask a question head for McMillan’s web site or your nominated nurse, and remember no question is too trivial or silly.

Staying positive is so important for you mental wellbeing and make sure you get the support you feel you need as an individual; be that family, friends or the professionals.

Updating this 16 months later (February 2025) I completed 5 weeks of radiotherapy by the end of October and had to wait for the body to recover before having a CT scan at the end of January. I was originally told I would not get the results until the end of March due to staff shortages, but was told to check towards the end of February which I did.

On Monday 17th I got the news “no measurable disease” and after questioning what that actually meant was told there is no trace of cancer now. A bonus of the weight loss following surgery is that my type 2 diabetes and hypertension are gone as well. The new emotion is currently denial, but I am sure that will pass along with the outbursts of difficult to contain tears. I share this not to gloat but to hopefully help explain one person’s journey and what you might expect wherever on the path you are. I wish you well and send loving thoughts.

Finally a shout out for the wonderful staff of the Royal Surrey and the cancer centre that are both absolutely amazing, I don’t have words adequate enough to describe how good they are.”

Andy Eeles
February 2025