In early 2023 I started to experience what I presumed was heartburn although I had never really suffered with it previously, then swallowing bread became a problem and eventually in March a piece of bread got stuck in my throat and I had to cough it up. This alarmed me so much that I went to the GP who fortunately put me on a fast track 2 week referral for an endoscopy despite my protests as I was terrified of the procedure! 

I had the endoscopy and the consultant told me right away. I will never forget his words. They asked my husband to come and sit with me so I had a suspicion it was bad news and a nurse was holding my hand. The consultant said “Its serious. What do you think it is?” Immediately I said “cancer?”  and he said yes. 

To say we were shocked was an understatement. I was 53 years old, fit, healthy weight, non smoker, even the nurse in the room couldn’t believe it. A few days prior we were cycling 40 miles over the Lincolnshire Wolds on our tandem and now I was being told I had cancer. My husband was a huge support to me. He has a very positive attitude and took time off work to take me to all the appointments etc. 

After that I had a CT scan the next day to see if it had spread then a PET scan a couple of weeks later. It was stage three adenocarcinoma but there was no evidence of further spread to my lymph nodes so following a staging laparoscopy I underwent 4 rounds of pre operative chemotherapy. After just 2 rounds I found swallowing was easier and after I completed the course I was able to eat normally again.

I then had to prepare mentally and physically for the Oesophagectomy. I was an ideal candidate for the robotic assisted operation and I had that on September 5th 2023 at Nottingham City Hospital.

After a week in hospital I returned home and gradually was able to eat little and often. On October 2nd 2023 I was told the amazing news that no trace of cancer was found in my post operative test results, however they still recommended I had a further 4 rounds of chemo just to make sure.

The post operative chemo was really hard going and they had to reduce the dose but I persevered and got through all 4 rounds. It was probably the toughest part of the journey but at least I knew I could look forward to better days. 

Things that helped me throughout the whole daunting journey were the love and support of my husband and my supportive friends from near and far, we are avid travellers and the hope of getting our lives back to doing what we love was a major part of my recovery. I also had an amazing mental health counsellor on the NHS who was invaluable in helping me try and deal with the psychological side of things. 

Since then we have been on 3 cruises, many weekend breaks and have lots more travel adventures planned . I can eat out in restaurants without issue. I usually go for sharing platters or tapas . I do occasionally have IBS type symptoms but these are manageable . I feel very fortunate that I can enjoy life once more . At times I felt like I was the only woman in my 50s with this condition but thanks to organisations such as the OPA I know,  sadly there are others and it helps to be able to connect with people in a similar situation.” – Lisa Hubball