Hi Charlie. sorry you needed to come here but you are in the right place. I
don't have cancer of the Esophagus, I do have small nodes hanging off the
back of mine. Small tumor in the upper right lung that has disappearred from
view on my scan.
One of the men I chat with in the Onc's office does have they type of cancer
you have and he is in complete remission. They took part of his our and
resectioned it.
I am sure more will chime in here. Just be patient.

Hello charlie,

Stage IVa says here
<http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_How_is_esophagus_cancer_sta
ged_11.asp?sitearea=>

Stage IVA (any T, any N, M1a): This stage indicates that the esophageal cancer
has spread to distant lymph nodes. If the esophageal cancer is in the upper part
of the chest, it has spread to lymph nodes in the neck. For cancer of the lower
part of the esophagus, it has spread to lymph nodes in the abdomen.

So I assume your treatment is neoadjust to removing a tumor and lymph nodes?
Good luck with the treatment and surgery. Please keep in touch.,
Hope the following helps you get in touch with others.
J

cathy's EC cafe uses the ACOR mail list  http://www.acor.org/mailing.html?l=e
1758 subscribers)

Eric Greene was with us (and may still be lurking) for several years or more.
(Stage II)
he had his esophagus removed and the stomach attached to his throat and chemo
and RT
I think the surgery is called "Ivor Lewis esophagastrectomy" He's on the EC
survivor's list.- has a webpage there if you want to contact him. He was a 5-
yearer last October.  Probably on the ACOR list.

Nina's been with us for about a year now. Her father was diagnosed with
adenocarcinoma - mets to the liver and ribs.  So that would be Stage IVb.  His
chemo seemed to have stopped working so last exchanges we had in June, he was
heading for a fishing trip and Nina was gong to try and convince him for more
trips.  I don't know if she's on the ACOR list - posts often here.

The EC cafe has a list of Survivors http://www.eccafe.org/cnt/survivor.html

And a In Memoriam page http://www.eccafe.org/mem/index.html

So I made a list of the Stage IV's from the EC list and tried to obtain info and
correlate with the "In Memoriam" page and here's a summary.

Joel Singer - diagnosed 1993  - passed away Nov/01 I could not find his type of
esophageal cancer nor record of surgery or other treatments.

William G. Bartholome. (MD) - Diagnosed Stage IV adenocacinoma June/1994 -
passed away shortly after his 5 year mark - Aug 2/99
has a webpage blog - points noted: extension into adjacent structures & lymph
nodes, solitary nodule in liver.
Eventually 7th vertebral body of neck.and tumor masses in windpipe.
Spread to brain.
(his words) "course of disease incredibly slow by comparison to others'.
You'll have to read the details of his treatments, in his blog.

Ruth Carter (Aunt Ruth) Stage IV diagnosed 1996 - passed away Feb 3/2001
Type, treatments, surgeries unknown.  no webpage as I recall.

Jane Pickett - squamous (treated with radiation) diagnosis 1973 - subsequently
survived Malt Lymphoma and still alive as of 2002.  See webpage on EC Survivor

Colin Pollard TX N1 M1B No surgery Decribes Stage IVb diagnosed 2000
adenocacinoma
No web page, but you can find him (as of March/06) and an email address by using
a search engine and typing his name into a phrase box (combined with the word
esophageal) - probably also on the ACOR list

I imagine you can find the rest of the survivors on the ACOR mail list.
I included the squamous patient, so you know to ask which type when you're
comparing stages and treatments.
J

Hi,

My father was diagnosed last July (2005) with adenocarcinoma of the
esophagus (lower). He had lymph node involvement and probable liver
mets, he was given 6-9 months to live.

He is doing very well. His weight has been stable and he got off
feeding tube very quickly and is eating a variety of foods with few
problems. His original chemo (cysplatin...spelling?) did very well for
him but was also very hard on him, he has since switched to another and
gentler chemo with good results. It appears that the liver mets have
disappeared for the time being and the lymph nodes have shrunk a great
deal. The radiation effects took awhile to settle down, but did
eventually.

He just had his 57th birthday and went on a fishing trip a few weeks
ago.

It has been hard for him, for a great variety of reasons. It has also
been a journey that has taught him a great deal about love, life and
priorities.

We don't know how long he will survive, the Dr's are very happy with
how he is doing.

I don't know if this helps or not. I hope that your journey isn't too
hard and that you wake each day looking forward to the gifts that life
has for you.

Prayers and best wishes,
Nina