My spouse had a stricture of the esophagus which was detected by a barium swallowing test several months ago. She had 35 radiation treatments to neck and face plus 4 concurrent cisplatin doses.
Because of this stricture she could not eat or drink and she had a G-tube.
The Dr recommended dilation of the esophagus. So far she has had six dilations averaging one every three weeks or so.
The ENT says that it will take several due to the scar tissue in the esophagus as a result of the radiation treatments. So far the dilations however have not been much of an improvent. She can drink water and eat shakes barely and not much else.
I would like to hear from other members of the forum as to their experience with dilations of the esophagus. How many times it was done, side-effects, and their overall experince with being able to eat solid foods followng the dilations.
Is it worth it to continue, will there be an marked improvement with time, are we expecting too much?
Vin
hi Vin,
>I would like to hear from other members of the forum as to their experience with dilations of the esophagus. How many times it was done, side-effects, and their overall experince with being able to eat solid foods followng the dilations.
i've had
2 stretches, at 1 yr from treatment.
1 stretch,two years later.
i have moderate throat pain for about 2 wks after each proceedure. the inpromvement in swallowing is great and i eat much better. the dilations get me to about 45 mm. 50 mm is considered average.
the doc told me that the success and how long it lasts is a function of where the scar tissue is. sometimes its on the inside and other times its on the outside of the esophagus. i have scarring where the dilation results are more long lasting.
hopefully your spouse will get some better results that what has been obtained to so far.
cu,
larryb
vin- my husband has a 4" stricture at the top of his esopaghaus- Please go to after treatment- need some help post- it address's this
Foot changed to inch by brh
Vin,
Once I could swallow again things were getting stuck farther down and in a barium swallow study MDACC finally figured out that it was a stricture in my espophagus. I went in for dilations approximately 3 times and it was never a problem. They would wheel me in, put me under and I would wake up a little groggy but feeling fine.
The procedure worked perfectly for me. I was scheduled for another dilation but a smart Dr. suggested another swallow study instead and it showed that the blockage in the espophagus was gone.
Although I am aware that these strictures can re-occur, I have had no problem whatsoever since my last dilation which was probably three years ago.
Best of luck with your wife,
Danny G.
Hi Larryb,
Thank you for your reply. I am happy to hear about your positive experience with your dilations and the great improvement in swallowing.
Our doctor is so extremely busy that he never spends much time with us explaining anything. I did not know that the results are dependent upon where the scar tissue is. I will make sure to ask him. In our case the effect of the dilations have lasted for a few days. But after the second one the effect did last for a couple of weeks. Then the esophagus closes again.
The problem is that after the procedure she gets violently sick with nausea and vomiting and we have to go back to the CCC to get IVs for hydration and anti-nausea medication for two to three days. Her throat is sore and it takes her a least a week to recover.
I am wondering if we started the dilations too early. She had her first about six months after end of treatments.
Vin
Update on esophageal stricture .
After 2 failed endoscopies and a failed largnealscopy(sp) my husband had a successful Esophagogastroduodenoscopy done at Memorial Sloan Kettering by Dr Moshe Shike last Thursday. He is a gastro.(Sp) Doctor and he went in with a guide wire from his peg tube through the bottom of his esopaghus while an ENT ,Dr. Patel went in with a light through his mouth to guide Dr Shike.They have created an opening and my husband was able to swallow small sips of water in the recovery room. He is being dialated there again this Friday. They do not want the opening to reclose. They are estimating that he will need 2 more dialations after this Friday and then as needed.
It is painfull for my husband to swallow though he managed a 20 ' bottle of water in the last day. His swallowing muscles have atrop
hied and his throat is still raw. Dr Shike says this too will passs. No quarantees that he will be ever able to eat steak or bread but this surgery will do a lot.
**** Joni- I can't figure out how to reply to you so I hope you are reading this. Dr Shike operates on many esophageal strictures and said that they are successful 90% of the time. We still have a long way to go and we know we are in the new normal- but at least there is cause to hope!
My husband was dx 11/9/05. T2N2M0 rt tonsil and lymgh node involvement on both sides/ 9 chemos and 7 weeks 5x aweek IMRT/ finsihed treatment 3/9/06 c
Joni-
hey Jordan,
it seems that you have some very sharp docs working on your husband. i'm impressed! hopefully this will be a quick road to eating and drinking. my esoghas was initially about the size of a paper clip wire and it all worked out for me... so i have great hopes for your husband. i think he will be eating and drinking everything in sight in the not to distant future. for awhile, it was dangerous to get between me and food.
let us know how it goes.
cu,
larryb
Vin:
I had a stricture as well and couldn't swallow anything. I had my esophagus dilitated 9 times. I also had hyperberic oxygen treatments. The doc recommended this as a way to help heal the stricture. I had a total of 29 treatments 6 days a week. After the stricture was healed, I had my esophagus diliated a couple more times. I recently had it done again, 13 months later. I think I'll have to have this done annually for the rest of my life. I can swallow, but I need lots of water to wash things done, so I get most of my nutrition by liquid. But no peg tube! I also had to do and still do exercises for my throat muscels called the shaker exercise. Without that I don't think I would have been able to swallow.
Best of Luck.
Jeff
Hi, I'm new to the board and writing on behalf of my dear friend, Kevin. He had a bilateral neck dissection last November and unfortunately had to have a total laryngectomy as the tumor (SCC, stage IV) was in the voice box. Also some lymph nodes were taken. Had two chemo sessions and 33 radiation treatments ending in February, which has caused him to be unable to swallow since January of this year.
Scar tissue damage from radiation has forced his esophagus closed so he had a 4th dilation attempt yesterday morning. There was a gastro doc working through his peg feeding tube and the head/neck oncology surgeon worked on the throat area. It took 2 1/2 hours and they inserted a coated wire starting at his stomach up through his mouth and the wire is taped to the outside of his cheek. He is feeling some pain today and is uncomfortable, but has been up moving around a little and getting some feed tube feedings going.
Has anyone else had a wire inserted to keep the esophagus open? He has a follow up appointment next Monday at the GI clinic and they said they'll only need to sedate him and dilate, so it shouldn't be as intense as yesterday. Doctor advised that he try getting some water down today, so hoping for that.
Thanks for any information. I read posts here to give him some encouragement as it's been a really tough road for him so far.
Nancy
My husband also has a stricture in his esophagus that won't allow him to eat or drink. We went for a dilation on Thursday and the ENT said the stricture was too large and the attempt to dilate failed. He told us the prognosis is not good and that my husband will probably be on the g-tube for life. We are not willing to accept his prognosis. Jordan12 I am so happy your husband is doing well after his procdure. Please keep me informed about your husband's progress. Has anyone else had the esophagogastroduodenoscopy done? I am from central Illinois but will travel if necessary if we can't find someone closer to try the procedure.
My husband was also told that he might have to reconcile to a feeding tube the rest of his life but we decided to seek another opinion from Emory in Atlanta and the Dr. there opened his esophagus about the size of two thumbs. His esophagus was opened June 27, 2006 and today he ate a small roast beef sandwich! Plus he can actually taste to boot! Don't give up. Get a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th opinion if need be. Best of luck.
sybil
Sybil,
Do you know what kind of procedure they did on your husband to dilate. I am so happy your husband is eating and drinking again!
Joni
I am (finally) home from an esophageal dilation procedure similar to the one described above (and ENT went down from the top and a thoracic surgeon went up from th4e stomach after removing the PEG tube. I had mine done by an ENT/Thoracic surgeon team and Brigham and Women's in Boston who have done about 50 of these--most have resulted in the eprson being able to swallow well enough to get off the PEG. There is a slight (I was told 3% but it had never happened to them yet) risk that the esphagus will be perforated when this surgery is performed.
Well the Queen of Complications will now accept her crown.
Yes, I screwed up their "never happened to us" record--when I came to in the recovery room my right lung had collapsed because air from the esophagus that had been used during the surgery ahd gotten in the lung. I will not say anymore about how awful this part was but I WILL say I was truly glad there was a thoracic surgeon right there, and interns, to insert a chest tube and suck the air out.
I ended up being in the hospital for 7 days, on serious antobiotics, and a chest tube with suction on, as they waitted hoping the eprforation would show signs of healing--apparently it wasn't huge but it was definitely there--a barium swallow was done that showed fluid leaking out the esophagus so I was instructed NOT to swallow--not even my saliva--even tho9ugh, to my delight, I finally COULD.
Finally the thoracic surgeon suggested a stent be put in the esophagus so that more problems didn't happen before the performation healed. I went in for that surgery 6 days after the dilation surgery. It worked in that the stent is in, and another barium swallow indicates I'm not leaking anything now that it is in. I've been told by a speech pathologist they work with there that I can try swallowing as much thin or thick liquids as I can handle. My throat is still VERY sore, though and I'm not sure how much of the pain is from thr stent. The stent has to stay in 8 weeks, I assume to be sure the eprformation has healed, but while it's in, at least my esophagis won't close up again. After it's removed, I may face more dilations as well, but none likely to cause such bad comolications as my thraot won't be so thoroughly closed up as it had gotten gradually......
Joni, Do look for another opinion before accepting that your husband will be on a tube forever. Despite me being the Queen of Complications, I have no regrets about trying to get my swallowing ability back and still have high hopes of getting off the tube eventually.
Nelie
Nelie, I am so sorry about the complications from your surgery. Please let me know how you come out. You sound an awful lot like my husband-what can go wrong will go wrong. Keep us updated. We are trying to find a doctor with experience in this procedure. I don't know where to start. No one in this area that we have talked to seems to be familiar with it so we will probably travel. We hope to find someone with this expertiese. If any one has any suggestions, please provide names.
Thanks.
Joni
Joni, If you'd be interested in traveling all the way to Boston, send me a message and I'll give you the name of my docs. The hospital was rated as one of the best overall by US News and World Report and despite my experience with complications, I think these are some of the best docs I could have found for this procedure.
Nelie
Joni- My husbands surgery was a total sucess- meaning they were able to open his esopaghus to normal size. We then went back to memorial Sloan- Kettering for a dilitation, aweek later.. We do not need to go back. He will need to have a modified barium xray every 4-6 months to make sure the esopaghus doesn't start to reclose. He starts speech( swallowing) therapy tomorrow as those muscles have atrohied as he hasn't swallowed since the middle of January.He is eating applesauce, over easy eggs, mac and cheese etc. It takes him a long time!
The best gift I have given him during this awfiul disease and treatment was not accepting our ENT's statement that he would be on a peg tube for life. The doctor at Sloan was topnotch and followed thru with everything ,including getting these surgeies scheduled weekly.
Joni- go to USA news and world report on the internet. University of Chicago medical center is in the top 10 cancer hospitals. If you want to go to memorial Sloan _ Kettering in New York we were referred to Dr.Moshe Skhke 212-717-3113 by our Radiation Oncologist..
Nelie,
Wow! I am sorry that you have had such difficulties, but I really am proud of you for going to such efforts to regain your swallowing functions. It sounds like things will get a lot better for you. Here's hoping so.
Danny G.
Thanks Danny! I'm hoping so too (right now my throat is still so sore I don't seem to be swallowing as much as I'd hoped--I'm hoping this is partly the stent and will get better when it comes out).
Nelie
Thanks everyone for all of your replies. Our oncologist referred us to an oncologist surgeon at the University of Chicago today. Hopefully, we will be talking with him soon. Jordan I am so glad to hear your husband is eating again. I am so happy for both of you that the dilation worked. We will keep trying. Nelie, thanks for the private message with your doctor's info and website. The oncologist wants us to find someone closer because of follow up appointments. I agree with him, if we can. Hopefully we will get in soon to see the doctor in Chicago soon. I hope your recovery goes well. Please keep us informed of how you are doing.
Joni, I'm delighted you found someone closer. Yes, followup is a hassle when you're seeing a Dr. that's far away.
One thing I would definitely ask any doctor is how many times the doctor has done this surgery and how many times they have perforated the esophagus. The rate should be low (2-3%) but, speaking from experience, you also want to know what safeguards they have in palce when that does happen.
For example, it seems from what people have posted here that many surgical teams that do this are ENTs paired with gastrointestinal docs--which makes sense in some ways because the PEG tibe gets pulled and replaced when they have to cut through from both directions. But it is thoracic surgeons that have the training to deal with damage to the esphagus, if it happens during surgery (and make no mistake, if it does happen it is really serious and can have some life-threatening consequences is not treated right). I think there is also more of a risk of damage when th4e stricture is large.
They should at least be able to tell you that they have a thoracic surgeon available to step in quickly should the worst case happen.
Signed--the worst case
Nelie,
Thank you for sharing the information about what to ask the doctor and also about the precautions. We heard today from a head and neck surgeon/oncologist from University of Chicago. She says she has success with complete strictures. We don't know yet how many she has performed, what procedure she uses, success rate or anything else. We will be making an appointment soon to talk with her in more detail. Are you doing ok? I imagine you are still in quite a bit of pain from the stent and tear in the esaphagus. Hang in there and keep us informed.
Joni
Hi Joni, I hope you manage to get in to see her soon.
I'm doing better, thanks. The stent is bothering me and may continue to do so until they remove it. But I'm down to taking hydrocodone (codiene and tylenol) from taking Oxycontin and Tylenol and I seem to be getting strength back. The intense pain I had around my chest from the chest tube and collapsed lung seems to have mostly gone away.
Nelie
This message is for Vin. Vin, did you ever find out why your wife suffered nausea and vomiting after the dilation of her esophagus? My husband had his esophagus dilated 7/10/06 and he has suffered serious episodes of nausea and vomiting since 7/16. It is now 8/8/06 and it still continues. We have been shuffled back and forth between his GI and Internist. His GI doctors insists that the dilation did not cause the nausea and vomiting. My husband is suffering from thrush and the GI feels that might be the cause. We went to the ER the other day. They do not know why he is experiencing these symptoms. he does not have a blockage via the X-ray that they took. They did discover that he has an infection in his trachea. So the new med he is on also causes thrush so there does not seem to be an end to his suffering. Do you or anyone else have any words of wisdom? We do have an appointment with Shands GI clinic for a second opinion the end of August. I just hope my husband has the strength to go. Thanks, Eileen
I'm not Vin but...Thrush can definitely cause nausea and vomiting (speaking from experience). If he is on an antibiotic, those can too. Also, the medicine that you're given to CURE thrush can make you nauseated (also speaking from experience). In other words, there may be no relief from the nausea in sight until he gets the thrush really under control and has taken the last of his medicine. Sorry. This is just my experience.
Nelie
Eileen,
Since then my wife has had two additional dilations. Again, as usual, she got violently ill with nausea and vomiting. So as usual after the 7th and 8th dilation we spent three days in the CCC so that she could get hydration and anti-nausea medication. She did not have thrush or any mouth infections.
I have asked the GI doctor performing the dilations why the nausea occurs. I did not really get an answer but he prescribed Tygan as a remedy. Tygan was dispensed in "horse" size pill which she could not swallow. We did try Zofran but it did not seem to help.
Anyway, we though that the nausea could be related to the anesthetics given for the procedure. So we asked the anestisiologist to try something different but the end result was the same. So we still do not know why the nausea occurs.
I thought I would post this update here. I went back for a 4 week check-up with the docs in Boston who cut through my esophageal stricture, dilated the esophagus, and then ended up putting a stent in because there was a tear or perforation. Thye said all looks good in terms of the stent staying in and my lungs looking good (after the collapsed lung).
The big surprise was that the thoracic surgeon said, if the stent isn't causing too much discomfort, I can keep it in for a year and then when they take it out it's likely I won't have to have lots of dilations after that--that the stent being in that long will sort of train the esophagus to stay open insted of thightening back up. I have mixed feelings about this as I am having daily discomfort and pain from the stent, but it isn't horrendous pain that I need prescription meds for and I'm not thrilled about the possibility of having to return for dilations every month either .
Any thoughts on this are welcome (or experiecne with this? I seem to be in relatively uncharted territory)
Nelie
Wow guys...that is really tough. I went for 2 or 3 esophageal dilations and had no problems, no discomfort, no nausea and, best of all, the procedure worked and I have not had one in a couple of years.
Nelie, I wish that I had advice to give. Best of luck dealing with it.
Take care,
Danny G.
Back with an update. Last summer I had a stent put in my esophagus after an attempt to unblock a complete stricture, and dilate the esophagus ended in a perforation. The surgeon who put in the stent wanted me to keep it in a year because he thought that would prevent the need for additional dilations. However, starting around October, it got harder and harder to swallow anything. My local ENT scoped me at the end of November and said he thought there was a strciture that ahd grown across the top of the stent (the one place in my throat where a stricture COULD grow with the stent in!) so I went to have the stent removed a week and 1/2 ago. There was indeed a stricture that had grown over it and there was some leeding from removing it, but he also dilated my esophagus even more than it was last summer.
And for the first time sicne radiation (over a year and 1/2 ago), at least with liquids, I feel like I can really swallow again! I mean, normal size gulps. I can actually gulp down water when my thorat feels dry without choking. It's great. I still have a long ways to go--I've only just begun exerimenting with non-liquids (my throat was sore right afetr surgery and it seemed wise to jst stick to water and broth for swallowing work to let it heal). Tonight I tried isntant mashed potatoes with some extra butter and it felt like sand going down my throat. And any liquid with any acid in it (like this berry smoothie stuff I was pouring down my tube) also irittates both my mouth and throat.
I'm hoping this is just a matter of gradually toughening up my mouth again. Its been a long long time since I've swallowed much.
The other problem may be something that just requires more swallowing practice or it may be really intractible and that is that any little solid bits of things I seem to have a prpoblem swallowing still-even using water to help wash them down. I was told a year ago I have a shortened epiglottis and it also isn't moving all the way down when I swallow so stuff kind of gets stuck on it. Also the back of my mouth is really dry and the tissue is not nice and smooth and stuff just gets caught there.
I'm hoping these are also things that, with time and work, I can improve and learn to work around. But even if I can just swallow smooth liquids that means I can eventually get off the PEG as longas I can swallow enough of them, which it now appears I can.
The thoracic surgeon said 6 months with the stent might be enough to keep my throat from wanting to close up again so maybe I won't even have to go back for more dilations but if I do, I do. I'm finally FINALLY seeing some light at the end of the tunnel!
Nelie
Nelie,
That's great news! I know what a long ordeal this has been, but it's wonderful that you're seeing some noticeable improvement. I hope this is a sign of better things to come.
Cathy
Nelie,
I'm so glad things are looking up for you!
Baby steps, then we run!!!
Andrea
Nelie,
That is wonderful news. You've been through such hell with the side effects from radiation. While lots of water is good, it doesn't have any calories. You need to find things you can drink or sip on all day that have calories. You might try apple juice or flat ginger ale, coffee with lots of cream and sugar or a beer. Acid things will burn for a while. Here's hoping you will be able to eat some more stuff soon.
Take care,
Eileen
Nelie,
My heart goes out to you. You can handle any needed dilations- piece of cake compared to what you have been thru.Gil has had 29 dilations and continues to have them done weekly. He missed a week over Christmas and he has had 3 since then and is still He gets very sad BUT he can eat tiny bits of food- pancakes, scrambled eggs, meatloaf- but he also has things that get stuck.
What do you most crave? Chocolate? let it melt! I'm so happy for you.
Paula
caregiver to Gil
Nelie, You are one tough and determined lady! I'm glad for you.
Amy
Paula, Alas, chocolate does not taste "right" to me anymore. I made some really gourmet really chocolate-y hot chocolate last night, brured my tongue trying to drink it (ouch--like my tongue isnt' messed up enough already), and was very disappointed in the taste. I just had a good size bowl of mashed potatoes with lots of turkey gravy, thuogh, and it tasted pretty good to me.
I still am having a problem with anything that has any solidity to it--even scrambled eggs! Sometimes it seems to go down OK but then later I cough it back up (I think because it is getting stuck on the little pocket my epiglottis makes. But I'm hopeful that maybe with some work with a speech pathologist I can learn how to deal with that.
HOnestly, my worse problem right now is I have bad trismus and when I stretvh my jaw with the therabite, I get jaw cramps which can be quite painful--though they don't last long. I'm assuming this is part of what I need to go through to get more range of motion and am trying to just deal with the cramps. MY ENT said the only medicines that help would be a muscle relaxer--which tend to really wipe me out so I'd rather not take those.
Nelie
SO, last week I had a barium swallow test (here, not in Boston) as well as an MRI that was part of what my ENT wanted for oral cancer followup.
First, the barium swallow results--showed an area where there was an narrowing of the esophagus (stricture), though not complete. Also showed I'm having problems using my tongue to move food to the back of my mouth right. Also my epiglottis isn't moving down right to cover my trachea. I asked the speech pathologist for exercises and he gave me one then and there and just mailed me instructions on the Sharer exercises, which I will have to add to my jaw-stretching ,swallowing, tube-feeding schedule but which, according to the article, is fairly effective at restoring swallowing ability!
In the meantime, this week I had a followup appt. in Boston with the thoracic surgeon who took the stent out of my esoph (and put it in last July) and scheduled another dilation for a week from Monday because I can feel that I'm not able to swallow as much now as right after the surgery (and it's only been 3 weeks since the surgery)!
My ENT here called about the results of the barium swallow last night and he mentiond that he has worked with patients using a (I am spelling this phonetically--didn't get the spelling) "Boo Jee"--which apparently is a device patients can learn to stick down their own esophagus daily (kind of like sword-swallowing he said--though not sharp) and stretch it--or keep it from tightening I guess. He said he has seen it used with patients who have strictures from radiation so they don't need to keep having surgery for dilations (he did a residency at a place that focused on treating head and neck cancer patietns so I'm guessing this is where he's seen it used?). He suggested I ask the Doc in Boston about this and I will, but I am wondering of anyone here has heard of this or used one. The idea of sticking something that far down my throat sounds first of all--difficult! I have a pretty strong gag reflex I guess I'd have to learn how to control. On the other hand, presenting it to me as "learning sword swallowing" makes me kind of intrigues to think that I could learn it. And I would be willing to try learning how to use it if it meant avoiding monthly surgeries in the future. But it also sounds like it might be dangerous. Like you'd want to be trained in using it in a safe way.
THEN there was the MRI results. Sigh. First, they did the wrong MRI-- a scan of the brain instead of the mouth and throat. My ENT was not happy about that. But, the new news that is boggling my mind is that this brain MRI I wasn't supposed to have has shown a benign tumor--a meningioma of about 2 cm. Of course, it was the radiologist identifying it as such, not a neurologist. So now I have to go see a neurologist. I have just spent a good couple of hours researching these tumors on the web and the good news is they are almost always begign and very slow growing (they are actually tumors in the lining of the brain, not the brain itself). The bad news is eventually, if it keeps growing, I'll probably need surgery to remove it. I have no symptoms yet, except that my physical therapist who was doing massage that staretd on top of my head always remarked that the area of my skull that it turns out is over this tumor felt less flexible than it should be.
Have I mentioned here that I also found out I have two humungous kidney stones in my right ureter from the CT scan I had two years ago when they were staging my cancer? But my kidney function is fine (it's been tested several times since then), I have no signs of infection or pain (and the stones are too large to actually pass into the kidney), I'd never know they were there were it not for the CT scan. But now I have a urologist who wants to do surgery to remove them.
Am I wrong to think that if I have no symptoms maybe these surgeries can wait? Its not like I don't have my hands full with mammogram and ob/gyn checkups every 6 motnhs because of the breast cancer past and dentist/ENT/MO checkups every 3-4 months, and throat stretching in Boston every month, and work on swallowing with the speech pathologist, help with jaw cramps and neck spasms with the physical therapist thanks to the oral cancer past and treatment. The imaging technology we have available to us definitely is a two-edged sword (and maybe I'll learn to swallow it!)
Nelie
Nelie,
It's clear that you are not having fun lately, but the silver lining in these dark clouds is that you might find yourself preparing for a new career:
http://www.swordswallowing.com/ I remember reading a book by Daniel Mannix years ago where he joined a circus and one of the things he learned was sword swallowing.
Hang in there!
Nellie-
The MRI is a good mistake- new health issues- but they are doable. Hopefully they can be put on hold so you can get the therapy to continue to make progress on your swallowing and eating. At " our certain age" you should only have small wrinkles and a little stiffness. Hey dear lady- you are slaying fire eating dragons. and whomping them off the cliff.
Come better weather I am driving to ithaca(only 2 hours) and treating you to lunch!
Stay in the now- and you are swallowing- a long upward battle from when I read your posts last march.
Paula
"Come better weather I am driving to ithaca(only 2 hours) and treating you to lunch!"
I'll definitely take you up on that come better weather, Paula.
That's a promise. I hope you have a smile.
For what it is worth, Nelie, my CT scan of the lungs keep showing up things like renal cysts, pancreatic cysts and gall bladder ademomyomatosis, but no one seems concerned except the lung dr. who keeps insisting I see another dr to find out if anything is wrong.
The first time this was seen was 2003. If I hadn't lost a cat to pancreatic cancer last spring, I'd probably ignore this but since I did, I just got another CT scan and saw pancreatic surgeon. No one has gotten back to me with results. I guess it is not bad but will if I don't hear from them.
My point to you. Radiologists see all sorts to things on scans that were not what was supposed to be what they are looking for. Some of this is benign and no one would have ever knwon it was there if a dr hadn't run us through this scan.
So don't panic because a lesion is reported by radiolgist just doing his job, just get it checked out.
Take care,
Eileen
Thanks for the encouragement, Paula and Eileen.
I had my esophagus dilated again yesterday--still very sore from it today. Maybe that will last em a while. I also found out that "bougie" means "pencil" in French (this must be a French vocab word I never had) and that the thoracic surgeon who has been dealing with the esophagus stuff does think that if I can learn to use one it would help keep my esophagus open--it is essentially the same thing they use for dilations (he also said "it's like learning sword swallowing"). He gave me info. about what size I would need so now I need to go back to my ENT here and see if he can order it and help me learn to use it (hopefully). I'll keep you all updated!
I also went to see the neurologist last week about the incidental MRI finding and he showed me this benign "growth"--the meningioma (he didn't use the word tumor I think because he didn't want to scare me). It's a sizable thing in there--as he put it the size of a very large olive or a very small plum (the human brain is about the size of a cantalope so that gives you some idea of how much space it takes up). He said if it was rapidly growing my brain would show signs of swelling--there are none. Which probably means this thing has been growing slowly for decades to reach that size, the brain has just been slowly folding around it to accomodate it, and it may never cause any symptoms and thus never have to be removed. I have another MRI in 4 months so we can see if it has grown at all in that time and that will give more info. about whether I need to plan on having brain surgery sometime in my future. I have come to agree with you Paula that finding this was a "good mistake", though it took me a while to get rational enough to reach that conclusion!
I am still waiting to hear about the results from the PET scan I had last week. Hoping for the best. And trying to swallow. Now I have to get into work before the snow hits!
Nelie
Nelie-
What really good news. No cancer!. Anything that is not cancer seems almost not important- I know that's not true but there have been so many cancer reoccurences lately and anyhting I respond with seems so inadequate. It can be any of us or our loved ones. Keep swallowing. Fantasize your dream lunch and remember I'm buying.
Paula
Nelie - The translation of "bougie" is "candle". In research, French words are often used to describe like items or items that have the same shape (tapered at one end?) and this one is probably found in a medical dictionary which I don't have right now (I retired from teaching French and translating about a year ago). Re the Cat scan that Eileen mentioned - my son's scan also showed something that looked like cancer in a lymph node which wasn't there when they did his surgery. Do keep hoping for the best and staying positive. I'll certainly be sending positive vibes your way.
Thanks Anne-Marie, especially for the correct French translation of bougie. Apparently my thoracic surgeon wasn't fluent in French either (he's the one who told me it was French for "pencil"). I'm guessing it is something candle-like in shape....
Paula, Hold those "no cancer" thoughts until I get back the results of my PET scan. Then I will really celebrate since today is the 2 year anniversary of my partial glossectomy and selective neck dissection and that is the last time that I had any known cancer in me (though I did go on to have rad and chemo just to be safe).
Nelie
I had 3 dilations and went to a speech therapist for a swallowing therapy called Vitalstim. I've been eating like a horse ever since. Good Luck