My husband had an oesophagectomy in early October from which he is recovering quite well. During the operation the surgeon removed 17 lymph nodes, 3 of which proved to be cancerous. There is an "excitable" lymph node behind his aorta that they were aware of before the op, but knew they would be unable to reach. The surgeon today said that a scan of any type would not identify further cancerous nodes and that he needed to see an oncologist to discuss next steps which would include chemo but that it would be my husband's decision in the end. His chemo in the summer was pretty horrendous. If he has chemo, how would we know if it had worked? If the "excitable" node was present during scans in April and May, could they have spread? Was the surgeon just being matter of fact and expecting us to work out that his time is limited? Anything you can tell us would be appreciated whilst we await the appointment. Thank you.
