Together, they consulted with a radiation oncologist who recommended radiation, chemotherapy and surgery as a course of treatment. Abbott recalls that the oncologist told him he might not be eligible for proton therapy because the tumor would move with every breath he took. However, Abbott’s friend wanted to consult with former connections at UW Medicine before Abbott committed to a treatment plan.
To Abbott’s surprise, the team at UW Medicine quickly devised a plan that included proton therapy.
“I consulted with Dr. Jing Zeng,” Abbott said. “She explained everything brilliantly. I had complete faith in her. In fact, the entire team at the center was fantastic, they couldn’t have done more for me.”
Zeng said proton radiation was chosen to minimize the radiation dose to organs in the area, including his heart and lung
“It’s good to hear that he is living well and enjoying great quality of life a decade after his diagnosis and treatment,” she said.
Abbott had proton therapy five days a week for five weeks while also going through a weekly chemotherapy infusion. He would leave work in the afternoon, come in for treatment, then go back to work afterwards. He said he had no side effects to speak of, except for redness at the center of his back where the proton beam entered his body. Even the chemotherapy only made him feel tired for a day, he said, with no other side effects.
“I really didn’t suffer at all,” he said.
Following radiation and chemo, he had surgery to remove an eight-inch section of his esophagus, the very top of his stomach and 28 lymph nodes.
“It turned out that I probably could have avoided surgery, but there was no way to know that ahead of time,” he said. “The proton therapy and chemotherapy really did their jobs.”
Now, Abbott has to sleep somewhat upright, with his head raised on three pillows to prevent acid reflux because there is no lower esophageal sphincter to stop stomach acid from entering his remaining esophagus. He can’t eat as much as he would like because he gets full quite quickly, but he says he can eat pretty much anything he likes at this point.
Even after ten years, Abbott still gets endoscopies, scans and blood draws on a regular basis. To date, he’s experienced no further recurrence of his esophageal cancer, although he was diagnosed with a second primary cancer, prostate cancer, in 2022.
He had surgery for that last year and is continuing to adjust to its aftereffects, but he says his life is “90% back to normal.”
“You just have to deal with what life throws at you,” he said.
Advice for others?
“Get checked out regularly,” Abbott said. “If anything is found, act immediately, don’t be afraid. And keep a positive attitude. My oncologist called me Superman, because of how quickly and well I recovered. I attribute it to my positive attitude, my wife’s care and the great team at Fred Hutch.”
These days, he plays golf and spends time with his 4-year-old granddaughter, who keeps him very busy. He has since retired, and he and his wife are now back in North Wales, where he is from.
“I am also looking forward to an upcoming family trip to Australia to see my other two grandchildren,” he said. “I may never have known them but for the wonderful care I received.”
