It was March 2014 when I first feel pain and difficulty with
swallowing food. And I feel pressure and burning in my chest.
After a week, I start vomiting I decided to go to the doctor the
next day to check out. He did some test and decided to send
me hospital for a scan and endoscopy that’s where they use
camera to look at your esophagus. It sounds painful, but it’s not
that bad. I have several of them now!
First I didn’t think it was anything serious. I thought it might be
an infection. But the test result showed that I had a tumor in
esophagus.
I was terrified with the test result but then I decided I had to
fight with it.
My treatment involved surgery as well as chemotherapy to
remove the tumor. But the cancer had spread into the tissue.it
terrified me more.
Doctor gave me two options. One was to remove the portion of
esophagus that contains the tumor along with a portion of
upper part of my stomach and nearby lymph nodes
The other was to join a Cancer Research clinical trial. I decided
within few seconds that I wanted to join this clinical trail
The trail involved having chemotherapy every week along with
radiotherapy 5 days a week for 7 weeks.
Before I joined I was told a long list of possible side effects. That
made me terrified a little but luckily enough not to experience
any of them.
I did lose a bit of weight because I couldn’t eat anything but
thankfully I didn’t have to be like that for too long.
I was really well taken care when I was on trial. Everyone was
brilliant Nurses radiologists and doctors. Everyone was
fantastic.
On the top of that the clinical trial nurses make sure that they
put me completely at ease. Without them and my consultant I
don’t know where I would be.
When I finished my clinical trial I had to wait about 12 weeks
before the doctors could tell me whether it had worked.
It was June 2015 when my consultant breaks the news that the
clinical trial had been successful and that my cancer was gone.
It was the best news I have heard in months without clinical
trials things would just stand still. I am so grateful to have been
given the opportunity to join a clinical trial.
I knew nothing about clinical trials before I joined it. Now I
understand how important they are. But now I look back and I
feel glad I did something that could help humanity in the
future. And help cancer medicine in future.