Keith Siau, Consultant Gastroenterologist at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, shared a post on X:
“An 80 year old woman was told last year that she had oesophageal cancer and this was incurable.
Unwilling to accept that as her only option, she asked for a second opinion. I saw her and called a colleague to consider endoscopic resection at a national centre.
She was counselled on the risks: no guarantee of a cure, significant procedural and anaesthetic risks, and a 100% chance of developing an oesophageal stricture which would require about 12 dilatation attempts, every 2 weeks.
Undeterred, she took the risk and had her resection earlier this year.
Today I performed her 12th endoscopic dilatation. When she received news this was likely to be her last procedure, and that her margins were clear, we both felt emotional. I gave her a hug and we rang the imaginary bell.
This was a sobering reminder of the importance of second opinions and how fortunate we are to have links with world class friends who can make good news stories like this possible for our patients. To those who see my message, you know who you are – thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Other posts featuring Keith Siau on OncoDaily.