"My Experience With My Friend's Cancer Journey (Part 1 of 3)"

I’m relaying my experience with my dear friend and roommates’ story from their initial Cancer diagnosis right up to their passing.

It’s been 2 years since their passing. It feels like yesterday as everything is still so vivid in my mind.

Mid Spring 2023, my friend experienced pain on their left side around the lower rib area. The pain became very severe so we drove to South Health Campus Emergency. I dropped my friend off early in the evening. My friend underwent a variety of tests to get to the route cause of the pain. After spending the night at SHC, my friend advised me the following morning they were diagnosed with secondary Cancer in their liver and the primary location needed to be determined. That afternoon, my friend was sent home with a ‘suitcase’ of equipment to measure Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, Weight, etc. They were also being monitored by paramedics who arrived at the house and took vitals over the next few days. My friends’ vitals were good and paramedics did not come back again.

My friend underwent a number of procedures to try and determine the primary location of the Cancer….Liver Biopsy, Mammogram, Colonoscopy, Gastroscopy, Abdominal CT Scan, PET scan. After the tests were completed it was suggested the primary location of the cancer was likely the base of the Esophagus.

In the mean time, my friend was told to return the ‘suitcase’ of equipment and no further monitoring would be done. That was troublesome for me as I felt this was the time my friend should have been monitored. In the 3-4 weeks following the initial cancer diagnosis, they could barely eat anything, and dropped 15 pounds.

Early Summer 2023 was the first appointment with the Oncologist who was direct and to the point, that this was terminal, Stage 4, inoperable Esophageal Cancer with 5-6 months to live if no treatment, 13-14 months with treatment….but did state their numbers had been wrong in the past. My friend chose treatment and asked how long they would need to be on Chemotherapy to which the Oncologist indicated this would be for the rest of their life. My friend also questioned if there were any clinical trials. There were none.

On the way home following their first treatment, my friend vomited. They were not used to the strong medications that were just introduced into their body. That was the only time they vomited throughout all the treatments. Treatment also included Chemo pills which were taken on the days in between the Chemo and Immunotherapy infusions, with a one week reprieve.

Despite some nausea, treatments were going well. My friend was getting their appetite back. The first CT scan following 2 months of treatment revealed the Cancer was shrinking. Fantastic news!

Treatments continued, the next CT scan mid Fall continued to show the Cancer was shrinking. Glorious news! The Oncologist stated my friend was doing so well, Chemotherapy infusion would be stopped and no further visits were required at this time, however, Immunotherapy and Chemo pills would continue. We expressed some concern about stopping the Chemo infusions to which the Oncologist indicated that Chemo is hard on a person’s body. We got that, but the Chemo infusion was working, plus back in early Summer, the Oncologist stated my friend would need to be on Chemo for the rest of their life. My friend continued with Immunotherapy treatment as well as the Chemo pill regime and wanted to continue with regular Oncology appointments. At this point, we had to trust the Oncologist was making the right decision for their patient.