Surviving Oesophageal Cancer

Hi Crystal,

Glad you pointed that out. I have not mentioned the results. The initial results showed the tumour, two thirds of the way down the gullet and about 6cm long. Then once the results of the PET scan came through, these should a small tumour about 1.5cm behind the aorta. Aparently this poses a problem as it is in operable and they are hoping the Chemo will do its job and get rid of it.

They have mentioned the chances of operating but it all hinges on the success of the Chemo, which starts Monday. Involves 4 intravenous treatments at hospital plus daily medication for the three month duration.

So, it’s fingers crossed and a long wait till November to see if there has been an improvement.

Will keep you posted.

Take care

Andy xx

Hi andy

Hope the treatment plan works well for your dad. There have been some good results with regard tumor shrinkage so let's hope your dad is a good candidate for the op after he has finished his treatment.

Steve

Hi everyone

Kenny is having quite a lot of problems managing to get food down.  We have decided that bread is certainly out of the question now. As is chicken and meat and even pasta.  Fish also presents its problems and even mince is getting stuck.  He has a stent but some growth at the top of the stent is providing an obstruction.  However, after some "zapping" with a laser, we are hoping for some improvement, otherwise it will be another stent within a stent.

I have now decided to add a "Juicer" to my blender and my food processor to see if I can prepare some more nutritious juicy type things to Kenny's menu.

Could anyone recommend a good juicer, and also suggest where I can get some good recipes.

Would be grateful.

Love to everyone.

Sheena

Hi Sheena

I'm so sorry about Kenny. There are some good ideas on this thread;

Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE

http://community.macmillan.org.uk/groups/gullet-oesophagus-cancer/forum/t/22804.aspx

I also used to blend my ordinary food and it tasted great - shepherds pie and stuff like that is fine - so is ice cream

I hope this helps

Judy

Hi Andy

I was sorry to read that the results were not what you’d hoped for, but try to stay optimistic and positive and hope that all will come good in the end.  Your dad should have begun the chemo treatment by now, so I hope all is going well with that and he’s not suffering too badly from any ill effects.  It is a long wait until November, but that chemo regime will hopefully do the job of shrinking the tumours and that surgery will be an option at the end of treatment.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you, so keep your dad focussed upon treatment, make sure he does a little exercise if at all possible and we’re all here to help if you need anything.

Love

Crystal xx

Hi Sheena

I’m really sorry to hear that Kenny is struggling with the food and I can understand your concern in trying to ensure a good balance of nutrition is maintained, but with your food processor, blender and a juicer you’ll be able to make very nutritious meals quite easily. 

As Judy says, regular foods can be blended, such as shepherd’s pie, chicken casseroles etc. by adding appropriate liquids to thin them such as gravy, stock, or milk and cream.  Then there are some great soup recipes where your blender will be especially useful.  I also use the blender to make berry fruit juices, but for heavyweight veg such as broccoli and carrots and fruit such as apples, mangoes etc, I bought a heavy-duty juicer.  Not all juicers can take the bulk of broccoli, so it depends what you want to make as to which type of juicer you get.  Mine is a Breville JE12 Juice Fountain Pro (800w), so does the job easily.  There are loads of juice recipes online, but one I like is rich in vitamins A, B and C and Potassium, which supposedly helps cell function.

200g parsnips, peeled

100g broccoli florets 

100g peas

2 apples

Sprig of fresh mint

Place everything in juicer and blitz.

Think of using foods such as peanut butter, avocado, beetroot, bananas as these are very nutritious and filling.

Two books I like are Super Juice by Michael van Straten and Handbook of Energy Drinks by Maria Costantino, ( both at Amazon UK).  If you have a Works bookshop near to you there are some brilliant ones in there for just a pound or two.

I really hope that the laser helps Kenny to eat again and that both of you can enjoy some walks in the countryside together.

Let us know it goes.

Love

Crystal xx

Thanks Judy and Crystal for your advice.  I am definitely going to try more blending and juicing to try to get Kenny's strength up.  He get's really tired and I think this has a lot to do with his lack of good food.  I encourage him to take Ensure plus drinks from time to time, but something more tasty would certainly be welcome.

Sheena xxxxxx

Hi everyone.

I am  going to get the juicer Crystal has as I want to make vegetable juices and such for him as I'm sure diet helps.

Have you all had emails about cucurium?  I have had several now saying that it is a miracle cure for many ills so I will add it to my concoctions.  If you haven't seen the emails you might want to google it and see what's written.  I'm sorry I don't know how to send this to the mac site.

Love to you all

Sue

Yes lots of encouraging news about cucurium - also known as Turmeric - as previously mentioned in a posting by LeCorse - I now add it to all soups,vegetables - pretty much everything I can get away with really ! Also do the teaspoon a day in manuka honey which apparentaly is quite pleasant and have got some turmeric capsules - just to be sure !  Do agree with you diet is vital - and he is actually and perversely looking the picture of health - but its all good preperation for what lies ahead.

Hugs to all

L x

Hi Sue

It’s a good juicer overall, you can read customers reviews online to help you decide.  The only drawback with these juicers is that for things like orange juice, it requires enormous amounts of fruit for little yield.  For that reason, I mainly stick to a mix of veg and fruit, making a small jug full.

Yes, I’ve heard about Curcumin, which is a derivative of Turmeric, both being considered as potent cancer inhibitors, and in animal experiments shown to be directly toxic to tumour cells.  (Beating Cancer with Nutrition by Patrick Quillin, p. 183).  I think diet plays a huge part in health and healing, so anything like this can’t hurt at all.  What does worry me is when people buy unknown and untried ‘magical’ supplements online, without having a clue as to their content.  I find that scary.  Anyway, that’s just my opinion and I can quite understand other reasoning and motives in other circumstances.

I hope Dieter is doing well today and still able to be as active as he has been.  You are doing such a fantastic job Sue, you’ve dealt with an amazing amount of different treatments and yet remained so very strong and incredibly helpful to others.  You are a true inspiration on this site in my humble opinion.

Love

Crystal xx