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You don't tell us the stage of the esophageal cancer - which would usually be the greater concern of the two cancers - but if she is on aggressive combination chemotherapy for esophageal carcinoma, most of these people do not do well. Of course the doctors who are managing her care and have all the information regarding her case should be explaining this.

Here's the raw data from the ACS for 2008

Esophageal cancers diagnosed in the U.S. = 16,470 - - Deaths 14,280

For women in the U.S. - - 3500 diagnosed with 3030 deaths from esophageal cancer.

The weight loss is not a good sign.

BUT - I do not have enough specific information here to make any real guesses.

It sounds worrisome is about all that I can say with this limited information.

I never lost a patient in this situation from chemotherapy side effects, but I lost many people who had esophageal carcinomas that progressed despite the best treatment we could give. The trick is stopping the chemotherapy when it is clearly not helping. That can be difficult because people think you are giving up on them. Because people often insist that "everything be done, many wind up reaching death while still on chemotherapy - the death caused by the progression of the cancer rather than the chemotherapy - yet many people prefer to blame the chemotherapy for the death. Some family members will not let us stop chemotherapy treatments efforts. As I have said here on YA many times, I spent more time trying to talk people and their families out of chemotherapy than talking them into taking treatments. When chemotherapy is clearly not working, it is doing more harm than good - and it runs up the cost of health care.

Usually the parathyroid glands can be removed surgically, and for the most part... that is that.

It is worse for esophageal cancer. I'm assuming her Crohns played some part in aggravating her esophagus to become cancer, but only her doctor would know. It depends on how extensive this cancer is and what can be done to surgically resect the tumor.

* Survival depends on the stage of the disease. Lymph node metastases or solid organ metastases are associated with low survival rates.

* A recent report of 1085 patients who underwent THE for cancer showed that the operation was associated with a 4% operative mortality rate and a 23% 5-year survival rate. A subgroup of patients with a better 5-year survival rate (48%) was identified. These patients received preoperative radiation and chemotherapy (ie, neoadjuvant therapy), with complete response (ie, disappearance of the tumor).

* The overall 5-year survival rate for esophageal cancer remains approximately 20-25% for all stages.

o Patients without lymph node involvement have a significantly better prognosis and 5-year survival rate compared to patients with involved lymph nodes.

o Stage IV lesions are associated with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%

* THE and TTE have equivalent survival rates.

* Squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, stage-by-stage, have equivalent survival rates.

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