Some time in September, Elliott started having trouble swallowing. Food would get stuck in his esophagus, sometimes even coming back up, It was not alarming to me because i had the same issue from time to time - I have GERD. After a couple of weeks it started happening with every meal and even liquids were hard to get down. I told him it sounded like a blockage of some sort and he should get to the doctor. He called his primary care doctor and set up an appt for the following week. She said it might be achalasia and referred him to a gastroenterologist. Two appts were set up. One for an esophagram and the other for an endoscopy. The esophagram or barium swallow was a little challenging with trying to get the thick substance down. He got enough down for the imaging and they saw something at the base of the esophagus. They could also see that the barium was not going down and Elliott could feel exactly where it was. And he could bring it back up on demand. This is now another 2 weeks of being able to eat less and less and now there is noticeable weight loss. We get to the endoscopy, and the doctor said he really didn't see a mass and he might be able to pop the esophagus back open once the scope goes in. He's still thinking achalasia. He was very light heartedinstead and jovial and said see you afterwards. Well, afterwards, he was quite a bit more serious. There was no popping the esophagus. They discovered a large tumor at the base of the esophagus that was blocking the path to the stomach. He said he took samples for biopsy but he believed it to be cancer. I hear the words but at the same time, I'm like wait, what? He wants Elliott to get a CAT scan. The nurse is already on the phone trying to get an appt. The doctor wants us to get it ASAP. So, we wait, while the nurse makes some calls. Meanwhile, other nurses come by with encouraging words. We have an appt and we have just enough time to get there, but they are expecting us. So, off we go. Elliott asks if I'm ok. I'm good, I'm good.I say it's good we have to wait another week for this appt.