Cancer Recovery Fund - Acid reflux hiding cancer

Hi, my name is William Barfield and I'm 41 years old. In June of 2023 I found out I had esophageal cancer after visiting the doctors a few times for what was being diagnosed as acid reflux and GERD. I knew something else was wrong as food was getting stuck, causing regurgitation and ultimately lost 30 lbs. within a short period of time.

For the next few months there were a lot of tests to see how far it had spread and determine what the next steps for me was. The cancer cells had attacked my lymph nodes and the mass that was found was almost 12cm in length, sitting in the lower 1/3rd of my esophagus. The determination was to undergo chemotherapy every Monday for 6 weeks and go to the Maryland Proton Center in Baltimore every weekday for 6 weeks to receive specialized radiation treatments. Throughout the treatments I did my best to continue working, getting up just as early as normal but cutting my day shorter to go to Baltimore.

Upon completion of my chemo and proton therapy I had to have more tests ran to see the effectiveness. The determination was to perform an esophagectomy where they would remove 2/3rd's of my esophagus and stretch my stomach upwards to reconnect with the upper part of my esophagus. Surgery day, November 1st came quickly and the surgery lasted just under 4 hours. They cut about 6" up from my belly button, inserted a feeding tube into my intestines, made an incision on my right side for drainage and a larger cut on my right side that spanned to my back was made to access the upper area of my esophagus. The pain was intense with any sort of movement which caused me to have to sleep in the hospital chair the entire 13 day stay in the hospital. The back incision was packed with gauze while healing to limit an infection, but one came about anyway. One morning the doctor had to cut the incision larger and pushed out the liquid that would cause a worse infection. That was some of the worst pain I had felt. After a few days of antibiotics the infection went away and they started to slowly close the wound with staples. After the 13 days, I was able to leave the hospital but was in a lot of pain, especially while riding in the car and hitting bumps.

After getting home, the healing process didn't stop and I had to slowly work into eating foods again and regulating how much I can eat. Now if I get full, it can be miserably painful and force me to lay down. My 2024 is looking bright, but I still have to go through Immunotherapy every other week for a year. This will breakdown my body as it helps to fight off the remaining cancerous cells found in my lymph nodes.

I appreciate any help and assistance that anyone is able to provide to help pay down the piles of medical bills from last year and help to minimize the impact this year.

I'd like to thank my family, friends and girlfriend for being there for me throughout this whole process and thank you for reading and caring for someone you may or may not know.