100 Questions & Answers about Esophageal Cancer

Whether you’re a newly diagnosed esophageal cancer patient, a survivor, or a friend or relative of either, this book offers help. The only text to provide the doctor’s and patient’s views, 100 Questions & Answers About Esophageal Cancer gives you authoritative, practical answers to your questions about treatment options, post-treatment quality of life, sources of support, and much more. Written by two oncology nurses and a gastric surgeon, with extensive commentary from an esophageal cancer survivor, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone coping with the physical and emotional turmoil of this frightening disease.

Pamela K. Ginex, EdD, RN,'OCN, is a Clinical Research Nurse with the Thoracic Surgery Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.' 'She received her Bachelor’s Degree in nursing and a Master’s Degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently a doctoral candidate in Nursing Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. She lives in New York City with her husband Frank.' She is honored to have had the opportunity to write 100 Questions & Answers About Esophageal Cancer with Dr. Bains, Jackie, and Bart and to have it available to patients and their families.

Manjit Singh Bains, MD, came to the United States in 1964 after obtaining his MBBS from All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. He did his residency training at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, New York followed by a fellowship in Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Cornell University Medical Center. He has stayed on the staff at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center since completing his fellowship in 1972. He is an Attending Surgeon in the Thoracic Service, Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and a Professor of Surgery at Cornell University Medical College. He has developed several techniques in operative treatment of cancer involving esophagus, chest wall, mediastinal tumors and major vessels. Dr. Bains is involved in several trials using multimodality treatment of esophageal, lung and mediastinal tumors. He is considered by many to be a “doctor's doctor” and is often called to assist colleagues during difficult intraoperative situations. He is a member of almost two dozen professional societies including Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American Association of Thoracic Surgery, Society of Surgical Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, and has published extensively with over 150 publications.

Jacqueline Hanson, RN, BSN, OCN has been a nurse for 38 years. She has worked at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for the last 28 years caring for patients with cancer of the thoracic cavity including cancer of the lung as well as the esophagus. While maintaining an active clinical practice of managing symptoms and side effects, she has also participated in professional activities presenting at local and national conferences and developing educational materials for patients.

Bart L. Frazzitta is Vice Chairman and CEO of Chiltington International, Inc. He lives in New Jersey with Ginny, his wife of 40 years, with whom he has two daughters and six grandchildren. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in December 1999 and was treated by Dr. Manjit Bains at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Two years later, he became part of the Patient-to-Patient Volunteer Program, in which patients who have been through a cancer assist a patient just hearing that they have the same cancer. Since joining the program, he has spoken to over 100 patients. With his wife, Mr. Frazzitta subsequently formed the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation to educate the public and medical community about this disease. His experiences as a patient and, later, as a patient educator and advocate helped convince him to coauthor this book.