My husgand has esophageal cancer. The first tumor appeared at the GE joint at 29 cm and was removed by surgery, along with 1/3 of his stomach and part of his esophagus, with his stomach drawn up and attached to the remaining esophagus. He then had simultaneous radiation and chemo. He has been cancer free since November, 2006.
In October, 2007, an EGD revealed a new tumor population at 20 cm in the remaining esophagus. We have been advised by our doctors in Florida that the treatment he would best benefit from now is Photodynamic Therapy, or some form of ablation technique that would directly kill the cancer cells in the esophagus.
My husband is professor emeritus of engineering at U of U. Each spring, we return to UT so he can teach a grad/undergrad class three days a week. We were all set to arrive Jan. 1, 2008. We have housing at Fort Douglas through the kind auspices of U of U Housing.
In 2007, we established a relationship with Huntsman Cancer Institute since my husband became a patient of Dr. John Ward last April when we were in Utah. Dr. Ward met with us for two hours and agreed to become my husband's "western" doctor for the times we are in Utah. ALL of my husband's records have been obtained by Huntsman.
When we found out about the new cancer, we called Dr. Ward's office to let him know we still want to come to Utah, and to find out of the localized treatments could be given to my husband while he is in residence to teach. We were very sad to hear that Dr. Ward has had health problems himself. We were referred to Dr. Agarwal and Dr. Buys, but we cannot seem to find out if my husband can receive the treatment that our oncologist in Florida recommends. We also have asked if my husband should fly to UT in November, so Huntsman doctors can do their own tests and advise treatment.
Time is running out on us. We must make some decisions.
1) He needs to start treatment somewhere. The type of cancer my husband has is a poorly defined adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, with signet ring structures.
2) He needs to let the U of Utah know if he will fulfill his commitment to teach or not. If not, they need some time to find another professor since students have already signed up for the course. We also need to release our housing if we are not coming to Utah.
Does anyone know if the kind of treatment my husband needs is available at Huntsman? I note that Dr. Douglas Adler has a focus on therapeutic endoscopy. I note that Dr. John Fang has research interest in esophageal cancer.
Can anyone help us? Thank you.
Last edited on 11-19-2007 03:18 pm by
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