My grand-daughter is almost 27, and is a very capable young
woman.  (She actually runs my business for me.)  She has
attended every appointment with her mother, taking the stance
that two people will be better able to remember all that is said.  
She is the one who read all the literature available, and asked
most of the questions, when talking to the oncologist.

She is of the opinion that, if you don't know which questions to
ask, you may not get all the answers...

I will tell my grand-daughter to ask, if she doesn't already know.

I have some idea of what lies ahead.  I nursed my ex-husband,
all on my own, while he died of cancer, which had started in
his bowel but spread throughout his body before being
discovered.  Not that there wasn't help available, he just
preferred not to have any "strangers" involved.  He had
attended many appointments with his GP, for four years,
while they treated what they thought was IBS.

Still and all, I will have to take more to do with the running
of my business, to give my grand-daughter more time with
her mother.  This is as she wants it.  

Since you're in Scotland, here's the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines
http://www.sign.ac.uk/guidelines/published/numlist.html
Management of oesophageal and gastric cancer is # 87

I'm unsure whether your grand-daughter should read it.
Depends on her age and ability to cope with it.

It will be interestiing to hear which type (Squamous or Adeno) she has and
which chemo (or chemos) they'll be giving her.
Take care. Sounds like you'll be very busy.
J

Thank you Bobert.  There will not be any radiation.

The first specialist she saw said that they would do three courses
of chemotherapy, then a scan to see if the tumour had shrunk, then
possibly more chemo before removal, and then further chemo to
ensure that the lymphatic system was clear.  

Then she saw the oncologist, and removal of the tumour was never
mentioned.  They are going to do six courses of chemo, spaced
three-weeks apart, and see how it goes from there.  The cancer is
in the lymphatic system, they told her.

We are in the UK, by the way, so treatment is free on the NHS.

Anne,

J will be chiming in soon with info and web sites, so in the meantime
I'll try to suggest things that be in her future.  

If they attack with radiation, she will probably get a feeding tube
installed.  I had radiation to Lung Cancer tumor that was near my
esophagus. As the esophagus gets radiation, it will get radiation burns
that are described as like a sunburn in your throat.  Food will irritate
the throat and swallowing will be painful if not impossible.  I survived
on smoothies and milk shakes.  Soft scrambled eggs and yogurt were about
the only thing I could get down with a minimal pain.  Thus the feeding
tube will make it easier to get nutrition.  The important thing is to
keep her weight up.  Not eating will guarantee weight loss.  Lots of ice
cream was my solution.   Popsicles will help to cool and soothe throat
and hydrate her mouth.

Others here will have more info, but I just wanted to get you started
with some info.   Best wishes for your daughter.  

Bobert

She was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus
earlier this month.  It is stage 4.

She is 45 y.o. and I wondered if anyone here would
like to comment, or offer advice.