How the Adventure Started - basic facts to date

So I thought I'd bring everyone up to speed as to how this started. It seems pretty sudden when I look back at it.

A few months ago I found that I had trouble swallowing red meats. It hurt on the way down, kind of like when you swallow water with a bubble of air at the same time. The pain in your chest can be very nasty! Well this happened only occasionally, and so I thought that it was something that would go away. Little did I know!! After a while, it became more consistent until I finally decided to go to the doctor. (Many that know me well know that that was a major decision on my part as I really hate to go to doctors!). The initial diagnosis was Steakhouse Syndrome (or Shatzke's Ring) which really is a pretty benign thing, so there was no real cause for concern. It would be verified by an Upper GI Barium Swallow tests and then on to the cure. Yippee! Well, so much for the easy way out!

The adventure now started its real beginning. First up, an endoscopy. A tube going down my throat with camera & tool to get biopsies. I was knocked out for the procedure, and when I woke up, I was told that I have a tumor in my esophagus and upper part of my stomach. Diagnosed as cancer on June 9 by the pathology report! Poorly diferentiated Adenocarcinoma with ringlet cell features to be exact.

Next up, a CT scan of my abdomen with more barium to swallow and an iodine like substance injected into me to give contrast for the photos (no need to smile, they can see right through that). The tumor was verified but with a bit of good news. It had not gone to anything near by based on what they could see.

Next up, another CT scan of my upper chest. This time there was no need for the barium (yeah!), but another contrast injection was needed. (I'm beginning to feel like a pin cushion!
Next up, meetings with an Oncology surgeon (Dr. Pelton), Medical Oncologist (Dr. So), and Radiation Oncologist (Dr. Parrazzo). All these were consultations to discuss the way forward each having their own opinion as to the best way to proceed. Surgery first then chemo & radiation, or chemo/radiation first then surgery. Bottom line, I need more tests to get this thing fully diagnosed!

Next up, an Endoscopic Ultra Sound (EUS). The EUS is very similar to an Endoscopy except that they go down your throat with 2 instruments. The first is the regular camera, which has a smaller diameter tube. The second is the Ultra Sound tube which is a bit larger in size. I was knocked out again for this and when I woke up, the preliminary report indicated that the tumor had gone most of the way through my organ walls and that there was one local lymph node infected and another that looked suspicious.

Next up, a PET scan. Here they inject you with radioactive glucose and then wait for an hour. Then your put into a tube similar to the CT scan machine. The bottom line is that the glucose will be attracted to cancer deposits in your body, "attach" to it, and the radioactive stuff will light it up. It will show any cancer activity that is greater than around a 1/2 cm. in size. Good news from this, nothing showed up!

Finally, the way forward is decided.