Yum..Feeding Tube..and Chicken!!

So..after loosing almost 25lbs, I decided to have a feeding tube inserted in my small intestine. My weight as of wed. the 15th was 158lbs!! I know a lot of that is water loss so when I'm able to get some carbs put back in me, I'll probably level off around 165-168 by the end of the weekend.

So a brief summation of the past few days..Wed the 15th, I had an EUS or esophageal ultrasound at Brighams. I little different than the esophageal endoscope which was performed in the beginning with the biopsy to determine the carcinoma..

Oh yeah..and my roommate Joe..he just left for another room..83 yrs old..stomach removed last Sept..had his esophagus stretched Thurs to open for eating and it ruptured..so yeah..my week may be tough but Joe has it worse! But hey..if he's tough enough to liberate Okinawa in 1943 at 17 than he's got a pretty good chance for a full recovery.

Back to the EUS..after fasting all day(like I really needed to)the EUS was done in the evening..a little numbing of the throat and light sedative was all it took. Had a chance to watch the whole procedure though as the sedative was not strong enough to knock me out like it did with the endoscope.

A little dazed from the sedative..I noticed the doc's pondering a foreign object between the uneven surface of the tumor of my esophagus. Chicken perhaps..most likely trapped during my first meal weeks ago when I first noticed the blockage and difficulty swallowing. And who said chicken is not good for you? Probably saved my life as it could have been months longer before noticing the blockage.

So the EUS is part of the staging process..that coupled with a Pet/Cat scan and endoscope is usually all that is needed to determine the stage. Briefly there are 4 staged of esophagus carcinoma..Stage I is surface cell, Stage II is surface cell involvement and deeper tissue involvement progressing into the smooth muscle and deeper with possible gland involvement..Stage III usually includes the surrounding glands and localized outer tissues and the dreaded Stage IV, metastasizing in various organs and glands throughout.

Mine fortunately looks like Stage II..I pegged it at II-III based on the large size of my tumor so thank god it looks like the low side.. I do have a small node on the outside wall of the esophagus but from what I am told, too small to be a real concern..

So after convincing the doc to add a feeding tube, the Pet/Cat was moved from Friday afternoon to Thursday the 16th at 7 am..so the tube could be placed shortly thereafter.

Thursday's Pet/Cat scan from what I am being told showed no major tissue involvement. Good news in the staging process. Some nodes did appear on the liver but my thoracic surgeon Dr. Raphael Bueno said they are malignant and not a concern.

From what I can tell and what is being relayed thus far, the Stage appears to be Stage II, oh..and the staging..stage I is surgery, stages II and III are 6 weeks of chemo and radiation( chemoradiation ) followed by 4 weeks of rest and then surgery with average hospital stays of 13 days..lets see if I can beat the averages..and stage IV starts with chemoradiation and various surgical treatments based on organ and tissue involvement.

oh..briefly..

stage II esophageal cancer (...ee-SAH-fuh-JEE-ul KAN-ser)

Stage II is divided into stage IIA and stage IIB, depending on where the cancer has spread. In stage IIA, cancer has spread to the layer of esophageal muscle or to the outer wall of the esophagus. In stage IIB, cancer may have spread to any of the first three layers of the esophagus and to nearby lymph nodes.

So I think maybe mine is IIA?? But I'm waiting to get a definitive answer from the follow ups next week.

I'm now sitting here at B & W's receiving 20 cc's per hour of "Jevity"..a product similar to Ensure or Boost. Planned progression is up to 50 cc's before I'm to be released.

The tube was inserted late Thursday after the Pet scan and feeding started last evening around 10pm..

And thank god for Cathi..she has been my support, my crutch..and my confidant and I could not be doing this without her or the rest of you! Yeah you probably already have guessed..She sneaked in a milkshake last evening when the hospital staff refused to give me more than apple juice. So between the feeding tube and the stolen calories from Cathi's hidden treasures..and Au Bon pain in the hospital lobby..I expect my weight to be rising soon..

Stay tuned for more..this has been a little lengthy but i have a lot of time and even more to say..