Hi all,
My dad had cancer of the oesophagus in August 2020 and after chemo and 12 hour surgery, he was given the news he was cancer free in April 2021. He has had to adapt to life with a much smaller stomach and shorter oesophagus and has continued to have an upset tummy and reflux. After worsening of these symptoms, he has been diagnosed with reccurent cancer of the oesophagus and it has spread to the nearby lymph nodes. He has been told that surgery isn't an option and he is seeing the oncologist in a couple of weeks to discuss chemo options. They are also arranging for the palliative care team to come and chat with him.
I'm completely heartbroken and as always with these things I am left with more questions. I know palliative care is related to end of life but would they always bring them in at this point, can someone live with oesophagael cancer? Just terrified its all going to happen really quickly. I suppose I want to see if anyone else has been through this with a family member?
Not entirely sure. I'm just feeling quite low and need to get my thoughts down 
Sorry to read about your dad, never great to hear "cancer free" and then "it is back" - we have never had to face that since my wife's cancer never went away but it is stable - and we will take that.
While it is true that palliative care can be related to end of life it is not the whole story as we can see here. Right at the start of our cancer journey we were referred to the local hospice but have never needed them since.
For a specific type of cancer it might help to look at the Oesophageal cancer forum and even post there as people there are perhaps more likely to know more than me as my wife's cancer is quite different.
As for posting on this group - do post here anytime, we understand and together we make a great team.
<<hugs>>
Steve
