I first experienced difficulty swallowing around April 2012 but after a couple of visits to the GP Gastro Reflux was thought to be the issue. Being just 39 years of age at the time meant I was not deemed to be in the high risk group for Oesophageal Cancer. After no improvement was detected following a month on Omeprazole and Domperidone tablets I was referred for a Gastroscopy.
That took place on the 14th December 2012 and they soon found that I had a tumour. It certainly wasn’t the diagnosis I was expecting, especially given my GP’s recent confidence that it was just Gastro Reflux. Hearing from the medics that it was big—the doctor almost couldn’t get his camera past the tumour – did not give me much reassurance and so I went home and started to Google. Big mistake! Anyone who has tried to view some of the stats available on the internet could be forgiven for giving up straight away. My future looked bleak, and I didn’t know where to turn.
My local Upper GI nurses Wendy and Heather were fantastic and swung into action to ensure I had a CT scan and a meeting with my consultant Mr Jambulingam before Christmas. So while others might have been wrapping presents on Christmas Eve I was in a small office being told that I had a 12cm tumour in my oesophagus and that I was considered “borderline” for curative treatment, subject to further scans. One was an endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) at Hammersmith Hospital and the other was a CT/PET scan at Mount Vernon. It was also suggested that I should have a staging laparoscopy which is where the surgeon goes in using keyhole cameras to get a visual look at the tumour.
In January 2013 the decision was finally taken to treat me with a view to cure. I had been diagnosed with the Squamous Cell Carcinoma variant of Oesophageal Cancer and recent studies showed that the success achieved by treating the patient with radical chemoradiation was delivering similar results to surgery. This type of approach has not been seen to work for Adenocarcinoma tumours which are still primarily treated by surgery. So while I had started my discussions with a surgeon, it was now the Oncologist who was determining my treatment.
I was admitted to Mount Vernon Hospital for three cycles of chemotherapy starting on 18th February. The first week of each three week cycle saw me receiving 5FU and Cisplatin drugs as an inpatient while the following two weeks were to recuperate ahead of the next cycle. My final cycle concluded in early April, and a scan soon followed to check on progress. I was amazed and delighted to discover that the tumour had shrunk from 12cm to a size no longer detectable by the CT/PET scan.
However there was a chance that some cancerous cells remained in the wall of the oesophagus so the decision was taken to proceed with a course of Radiotherapy (26 consecutive week days) along with further Chemotherapy which would help to enhance the response achieved by the Radiotherapy. My final Radiotherapy session took place on 26th June, and while my oesophagus was battered and sore, that was a small price to pay if the cancer was beaten.
Getting back to normal eating has been a long process. On the days after Radiotherapy I was restricted to soup, yogurt and possibly some soggy breakfast cereal. Slowly solids returned to my diet, although things would still periodically get stuck. I was monitored closely by Dr Mawdsley and her team, with regular visits to clinic to discuss my progress and any side effects I was experiencing. A further CT scan in early September was clear, while an endoscopy in early October found a stricture (narrowing) which was preventing me from having a complete return to normal eating. I had a dilatation (stretching) of the oesophagus, and I may need further such procedures before it is back to its normal width. However my diet has almost returned to normal with only a small number of foods now out of bounds.
When I was told that I was going to receive Chemoradiation with a view to cure, I desperately searched the internet for success stories. Or in fact any stories of this kind of treatment. I could find very little, and so I hope by me publishing my story it will show that it can work as a treatment. My only minor complaint is some neuropathy (pins and needles below my knee) but I can live with that. Given where I was in December last year, life is pretty good and I am looking forward to returning to work and getting my life back on track.
