What can i do if i was diagnosed with esophageal cancer?

Usually you: Are told histology (squamous or adenocarcinoma), stage (limited to esophagus, or penetrating beyond adventitia, or nodes) including penetrance through muscle layers. And then opions for therapy: surgery; chemoradiotherapy before surgery, chemotherapy and radiation without surgery.

Find a good team: You need to find a good team of doctors whom you can trust- to work with you -which include- a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist , a surgical oncologist , a GI doc and off course your primary care doctor. Discuss with your oncology team about the disease, staging, type, treatment options, pros and cons of each options. If you smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol - quit doing both.

Find a specialist: Outcomes are better when treatment is determined by a group of physicians from different specialties that have experience in this type of cancer, including a thoracic surgeon, a medical oncologist and a radiation oncologist. A pet/ct scan and an endoscopic ultrasound (eus) should be obtained to determine the stage and further treatment. If surgery is indicated, find a busy esophageal center.

Determine stage: Stage i through iii is potentially curable via surgery +/- chemoradiotherapy. Sees board certified thoracic surgeon or medical oncologist.

Stage dependent: For best survival in fit patients, surgery for stage i and iia. In stages iib and iii, standard approach is chemoradiation followed by surgery. More advanced, i.e. Stage iv, chemotherapy +/- radiation and no surgery. Best results will be with a comprehensive multidisciplinary thoracic surgical oncology team. http://goo.gl/6phtu.