Oesophageal cancer

Angmark 21 days ago

1 reply
35 subscribers
154 views

Hello. My husband 44 was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer spread to lymph nodes in January, end of feb he had a seizure and doctors confirmed he had 2 tumours in brain. He started HCF early march. He has now had 5 out of 6 cycles. He had a CT scan on 22nd April and we are still waiting for the results of that. He had a MRI of his brain 2 weeks ago and his GI nurse said that the ones in his brain are larger now but put it down to swelling from radiotherapy-he isn’t on radiotherapy. In February he got told 9-12 months. He is sleeping roughly 20 hours a day now. I am presuming the timeline is now a lot less? What am I to expect? Thank you

Jo - Macmillan 20 days ago

Hi Angmark,

Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Jo and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

It is quite understandable that you have questions about what to expect following your husband’s stage 4 oesophageal cancer diagnosis. Especially as he has developed new symptoms since his initial diagnosis. This sounds like a difficult time for you both.

As we are not part of the NHS, we don’t have access to your husband’s medical records, so whilst we can give general advice and support, we are unable to offer specific information.

I wonder whether the length of time your husband is sleeping each day is a recent change for him and if so whether his hospital team are aware. If not, it would be advisable to contact them as soon as possible. Alternatively, if you have a number for the hospital chemotherapy 24-hour hotline you could give them a call.

Your husband’s hospital team are also in the best place to answer your specific questions about his prognosis, as they are familiar with his diagnosis and treatment and have access to his medical records. Hopefully they can also give you the result of his CT scan on 22^nd April.

I also wonder whether your husband has the support from a Macmillan (palliative care) nurse. If a referral hasn’t been made already, his hospital team or GP could arrange this. They are experienced in assessing and managing cancer symptoms, as well as providing emotional support to you both. They will also be able to give a better idea of how significant your husband’s current symptoms are to his life expectancy.

It can be emotionally challenging supporting someone close to you with advanced cancer, so it’s important that you don’t feel alone in dealing with this. There are a number of ways that we here at Macmillan can offer help and support, so please do get back in touch.

I see that you have also joined the oesophageal cancer forum on our online community and hope you are finding this supportive. There is further information and support available through the OPA cancer charity.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get back in touch. You can speak with the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or email us.

I hope this information is helpful.

Best wishes,

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

Ref: JD/PW

Disclaimer

Oesophageal cancer