Page 1 - Ken Muller' Experience

Presentation by Kenneth Muller

th
OOSO Quarterly meeting, Churchill Hospital, Saturday 11 June, 2016
Presentation by Kenneth Muller, Former Upper GI Patient

Introduction

Kenneth Muller aged 65 and married to Sheila Muller. We are both
retired and live in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. We have two adult
daughters and two teenage grandchildren.
I had an oesophagectomy in February 2015.

Past health background
During the last 15 years, I had become increasingly overweight and
until 2011, when I retired, my lifestyle was not particularly healthy,
especially in diet and irregular exercise. Before my diagnosis, I had
reached almost 16 stones in weight. I had only had two previous
occasions of being admitted to hospital for surgery.

• 2006 A hip resurfacing procedure.
• 2009 A broken tibia and fibula involving two successive
operations

Diagnosis Care and Support

During August 2014, I became increasingly easily fatigued. Being referred to the highly modern Cancer and
In early September 2014, after a routine blood test, I was Haematology Centre at the Churchill Hospital,
found to be extremely anaemic. I was prescribed a strong immediately after formal confirmation of my diagnosis,
course of iron tablets and referred to a colon cancer has proved to be, literally, a life-saver, both for myself and
consultant for investigation. Following a dual endoscopy for Sheila. From the first time we met Anne Phillips and
and colonoscopy at Stoke Mandeville hospital, I was Anita Joyce, the Advanced Nurse Practitioners, and Bruno
diagnosed as having a cancerous tumour in my Sgromo, my consultant, we realized that we could not be
oesophagus. Initially, it was viewed as, possibly, being too in any better or in any more reassuring hands. Despite
close to my aorta for surgery. Fortunately, several several weeks of nerve racking uncertainty, as to whether
subsequent exploratory procedures confirmed that I was only going to receive palliative care or, more
surgery could be possible, but only after a combined positively, to be prescribed a suitable course of pre-
course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, comprising 5 x operative treatment, the Churchill team ensured that we
Monday sessions of chemotherapy and 25 x separate daily both received a combination of highly positive ongoing
sessions, Monday to Friday of radiotherapy, throughout encouragement alongside a regularly delivered candid
December and into the first week of January 2015. On the assessment of the varying challenges ahead, dependent
17th February, I underwent a 12-hour operation at the upon which eventual prognosis would be finally
Churchill Hospital, followed by 11 days of recuperation. confirmed.
There are three topics that I would like to explore: The regular phone contact with Anita Joyce, always aimed
• Care and support at both myself and Sheila, covered a most critical phase of
time, prior to us discovering the eventual prognosis. It
• The biggest challenge
enabled us to deal with and respond objectively and
• Two top tips to share rationally to the differing challenges that kept appearing