titanium3m
New member
My story starts out about two months ago when I was not feeling well with an upset stomach that would not go away. After a colonoscopy which revealed nothing, my doctor scheduled an endoscope which to my surprise led to a call back to the Dr. office the following week. I was told there was a tumor at the bottom of my esophagus where it meets the stomach and that it was diagnosed as high grade displasia. I was given the name and number of a specialist at the University of Penn, I knew this was no joke. After speaking and meeting with the surgeons who had walked me through the procedure I knew I had a rough road ahead of me. They had done their own biopsy a little deeper then the one performed in NJ where I live, and an ultrasound to boot and determined it was cancer. Now people with this disease usually go through a period know as Barret's, I did not have acid reflux or complain about heart burn ever!!
The plan of attack was to remove the esophagus from the throat to the stomach, two surgeons one in the throat and one in the stomacher, 6 hours long!!! I consider myself a newlywed, being married only 2 years and they have been a wonderful 2 years. My wife is a beautiful woman and even more beautiful inside, she has been by my side since day one and I would not trade her in for all the money in the world and i mean that as I sit here and type with tears in my eyes just thinking about how she slept in a chair by my side in the hospital. We have had many tears over this with friends and family, and it has made us even stronger. Now to bring you up to date, I was released out of the hospital last Friday Aug.4, my biopsy of all lymph node in the area are clean and I am writing one of my first ever threads to AM, a board to which I have been a silent part of for many years and learned so much from!!!!. I am not able to eat a whole lot being that my stomach has now been rerouted into an esophagus and is at the top of my throat and the gas and diarrhea is horrible but I am cancer free and have been a fighter through this whole ordeal, there are times when I look in the mirror and see all the scars and think I am a Frankenstein looking but what can you do it is only on the outside.
I have lost 15-20 pounds so far an expect to loose another 15. Going in to this surgery I was 205ish, my plan is to heal up get health eat right and resume bodybuilding I have not mentioned this but I am 39 years young. I know this has been a long read but this is the first time I am talking about this aside from family and friends and it feels good!! Take care, I would rather not here the doom and gloom posts, but if someone has a friend or family member that has gone through this with a positive outcome I would be more than willing to hear from you. Thanks again...
The plan of attack was to remove the esophagus from the throat to the stomach, two surgeons one in the throat and one in the stomacher, 6 hours long!!! I consider myself a newlywed, being married only 2 years and they have been a wonderful 2 years. My wife is a beautiful woman and even more beautiful inside, she has been by my side since day one and I would not trade her in for all the money in the world and i mean that as I sit here and type with tears in my eyes just thinking about how she slept in a chair by my side in the hospital. We have had many tears over this with friends and family, and it has made us even stronger. Now to bring you up to date, I was released out of the hospital last Friday Aug.4, my biopsy of all lymph node in the area are clean and I am writing one of my first ever threads to AM, a board to which I have been a silent part of for many years and learned so much from!!!!. I am not able to eat a whole lot being that my stomach has now been rerouted into an esophagus and is at the top of my throat and the gas and diarrhea is horrible but I am cancer free and have been a fighter through this whole ordeal, there are times when I look in the mirror and see all the scars and think I am a Frankenstein looking but what can you do it is only on the outside.
I have lost 15-20 pounds so far an expect to loose another 15. Going in to this surgery I was 205ish, my plan is to heal up get health eat right and resume bodybuilding I have not mentioned this but I am 39 years young. I know this has been a long read but this is the first time I am talking about this aside from family and friends and it feels good!! Take care, I would rather not here the doom and gloom posts, but if someone has a friend or family member that has gone through this with a positive outcome I would be more than willing to hear from you. Thanks again...