My recurrence was diagnosed almost exactly five years after surgery, when I was just beginning to think that I had survived. Prior to surgery I had the typical chemo-radiation treatment. Post-surgery went relatively well: no mouth sores, only on a feeding tube for about two weeks after getting home from surgery, and eating solid food about a month or two after surgery. Five months after surgery I spent two weeks in the Netherlands, some restrictions on food (type and amount) and having to sit every 15-20 minutes in art museums because of a sore back. The main post-surgery problem was occasionally dumping syndrome to varying degrees.