This is very sad news. Hitchens is the author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.
Allahpundit looked up esophageal cancer in the Merck handbook and read this:
Because esophageal cancer usually is not diagnosed until the disease has spread, the death rate is high. Fewer than 5% of people survive more than 5 years. Many die within a year of noticing the first symptoms. Because nearly all cases of esophageal cancer are fatal, the doctor’s main objective is to control symptoms, especially pain and the inability to swallow, which can be very frightening to the person and loved ones (see Death and Dying: Difficulty Swallowing).
Me: Let us hold Christopher in our prayers.