I had the open instead of the minimally invasive esophagectomy because I had a pulmonary embolism from the chemotherapy port. During the surgery they deflated my lung and it would’ve been too dangerous if there was a problem and they had to suddenly open me up.

I have the incisions on my neck, belly, and back where they broke my ribs to get the esophagus out. The incisions are about 6 to 8 inches each.

I had stage three squamous cancer.

I was in the hospital for 10 days. The surgery was successful, and there was no sign of the cancer when they did the biopsy of the esophagus and half the stomach that was removed.

I shopped around and got the best doctor I could find who had the most experience and I was confident and comfortable going into the procedure and happy with the results.

I have not had a recurrence. I have checkups as needed with my oncologist and I have had some CT scans and endoscopies to keep an eye on things. I feel fortunate to be in such good health 12 years later.

I wish you the very best! So many people successfully make it through this journey and are happy and healthy when they get to the other end!