Innovative endoscopy procedure at UT Physicians is game-changer for Houston man
TJ Giden of Houston is now enjoying a normal, cancer free life thanks to a groundbreaking surgical procedure. (Photo by Andi Atkinson, UT Physicians)
“When I heard the word ‘cancer,’ I figured it was all over,” he shared. “I thanked God for letting me live this long.”
Normally, a patient presenting with earlier stages of esophageal cancer would undergo a traditional surgery where the esophagus and surrounding lymph nodes are removed. In Giden’s case, he was too high risk for the surgery. Thus, chemotherapy and radiation were recommended by a board of experts during a cancer conference as a compromise to slow the spread of cancer down. However, it wasn’t a road the patient was willing to go down.