oesophageal cancer, survival rates?

Survival rates are based on staging. Stage 1 disease is quite curable but after that there are many variables.

Remember that statistics are just numbers and the only percentile that really matters is the single % made up of your partner.

Thanks to tobacco this is a very common cancer that Drs see every day. Make sure you have a smart oncologist that you like and who works hard for you. Help your partner follow his treatments closely and with fortune good things can happen.

Initial treatment is usually surgery followed by radiation therapy if needed. Chemo is usually reserved for those who really need it.

good luck to you both

Hello,sorry to hear of this.I have been a neckbreather now for nearly eight years.At the beginning I had 35 radiation treatments which was followed by full laryngectomy surgery.There is lots to know,for example speech choice etc but as you say you are waiting for results, so all might be better than originally thought.With this in mind,you can see I am eight years in and can say I have never felt better.Please feel free to contact me if there is anything I can help you with,and survival rate is excellant.GJ

Im very sorry to hear that, hope your partner gets well soon.

Survival rate of any cancer would depend on many factors such as age, general health, life style etc. so there is no definitive answer.

The most important thing is to stay positive and look to the future.

The most common malignant tumor in the proximal two thirds of the esophagus is squamous cell carcinoma; adenocarcinoma is the most common in the distal one third. Symptoms are progressive dysphagia and weight loss. Diagnosis is by endoscopy, followed by CT and endoscopic ultrasound for staging. Treatment varies with stage and generally includes surgery with or without chemotherapy and radiation. Long-term survival is poor except for those with local disease.

Here is a site that will give you all the information that you might want. Mind you it's intended for Dr's, and has some big words in it... but, you can always look them up online to better understand. I hope that presentation was early on this, good luck to your partner!

http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec02/ch021/ch021c.html?...

Sorry to hear this and I hope it hasn't spread but don't ask for opinions, they could be wrong, see your doctor he is the only person that can tell you exactly what is happening.

http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page...

Try that link, it's got a lot of information on it.