Tom's Esophageal Cancer Surgery

My uncle, Tom Follacchio, was laid off in July 2017 from his 30+ years working as a Senior Electrical Designer for Hologic.  My grandmother, his mother-in-law, was diagnosed with stage 1b Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma and had a thoracotomy in September 2018. Tom was diagnosed with stage three esophageal adenocarcinoma in August 2018.  As you could imagine, this was a lot to take in at once for our family, especially my aunt Suzanne.  Tom underwent aggressive chemotherapy treatments every Friday for 6 weeks and targeted radiation Monday through Friday for a total of 28 treatments.  The next step for Tom is surgery.  He had a consult with a surgeon in Louisville and decided to get a second opinion from the World Class Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering in Manhattan.  According to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), "If the affected area is small, a minimally invasive esophagectomy may be performed instead of an open esophagectomy. This procedure is performed by making a few small incisions instead of one or two larger incisions. During this type of surgery, the surgical oncologist uses a laparoscope (long tube with small camera attached to the end) to help guide removal of all or part of the esophagus. Once part or the entire esophagus is removed, the remaining esophagus will be connected. If the entire lower portion of the esophagus is removed, the remaining esophagus will be connected to the stomach."  During his second opinion consultation, the surgical oncologist told him he is a great candidate for the laparoscopic surgery but that it should be done sooner than later.  This type of cancer typically comes back aggressively, especially without surgery.

Tom's surgery is scheduled in Manhattan for December 5 and the surgeon anticipates Tom to be in the hospital until around the 22nd, barring any complications or setbacks.  The stress of the diagnosis, treatments, planning travel for surgery and the actual surgery itself have been a lot on our family.  It is never easy to hear that you or a member of your family has cancer.  The financial aspect of this is becoming extremely stressful for my aunt and uncle and it is a stress that is making the situation so much more complicated.  They are currently insured under COBRA and the medical bills are still overwhelming.  Being that surgery is scheduled for during the holidays, the travel and lodging expenses are amounting to much more than anticipated.  They are not people to ask for financial help, so I have decided to do it for them.  Any help that anyone can offer my family would be beyond appreciated.  This surgery along with the treatments he has already had, will hopefully extend Tom's life expectancy and give him a good quality of life.  If anyone has anything that they can spare, it would be the most generous gift our family has ever received.


We love you, Tom and Suzanne.  We are all going to get through this together.(Tom and the Radiation Oncology Nurses on his last day of treatment)