My wife was diagnosed with upper GI Oesophageal cancer early in 2022. Mid way through the year she began an aggressive bout of chemotherapy and radiotherapy which completed August. Whilst initial indications were good, the cancer has come back, with the PET scan indicating it has spread to 2 lymph nodes in the upper chest. Recommended treatment is now immunotherapy to manage the cancer growth and a stent to allow food consumption.
We have been advised that surgery is not an option due to the spread of the cancer and due to the complexity. This closed door on the surgery option is a bit of a blow and I was wondering if others have been told surgery is not an option
Hello. I was also told that surgery was not an option in January 2022. So I started on two chemo drugs and keytruda. One of the chemo drugs had to be stopped due to chest spasms and I came off all treat in June due to colitis . At that stage I had had 5 rounds of cisplatin and keytruda. Since June 2022 I have had 3 ct scans , all of which have shown no sign of disease. I am aware that this might not last but there is no guarantee with surgery either . Hope that helps
Hi there. Surgery wasn’t an option because I am stage 4 - ct scan showed positive lymph node near my kidney . Immunotherapy can be very effective but it can also have some significant side effects. Hope your wife’s treatment goes well.
Hello Pete, I’m Julie and my husband was diagnosed 5 weeks ago. 7 days ago he was offered the Stent but we both declined it as it won’t be able to be removed ever. My husband had PET scan and Endoscopy at St.Thomas’ hospital 2 weeks ago and was then told he won’t be getting an operation as it’s already spread and at stage 4. Today he started Chemotherapy.
Julie, sorry to hear about your situation. I started this thread to try and understand why surgery would be being ruled out and I have found a little more information. Like you've been told, I have been told the spread of the cancer means the surgery may not clear it. Also depending on the tumour location the surgery could cause issues with the airway. In both cases as it's major surgery, the benefits need to be better than the risks and in our case the surgery would likely impact quality of life (ie long recovery time) for little benefit and at high risk.
Like you, we were concerned about the permanent nature of the stent, but without surgery there were few (if any) options. So my wife has just had a stent insertion procedure today and we're hopeful that with the stent that eating will be easier and that the immunotherapy will keep the cancer managed.
I was also told that surgery, chemo and radiotherapy were not options for me as I had a perforation in my oesophagus which ,although it had healed, shrinking the tumour could cause it to reopen and allow bacteria to enter. I am now being treated with pain relief - low dosage slow release morphine- and 4 hourly soluble paracetamol. I have had 2 stents inserted which means I can eat again and am no longer losing weight. I get out and about to go to the cinema, theatre, coffee with friends etc. I do have to watch I’m not doing too much as I do get tired easily but I am delighted to still be here!
Heather, it's good to hear that you're able to get on with things to a degree. Getting out and about is what I'm hoping for my wife, and I expect the same challenges with energy levels
My dad has been recently diagnosed (Feb 23) and we met with the consultant last week to discuss his PET scan results and treatment options. He has a T3 N0 M0 squamous cell carcinoma and lost his brother last year to the same.
After getting the results we talked about treatment and due to the position of the cancer and his general physical health (hes 72 and has lost a lot of weight) surgery was ruled out as a treatment option.
Unfortunately for us, so was chemotherapy due to other medical conditions and we were advised that the radiotherapy treatment would only be a palliative treatment. We are now awaiting a further scan to sort out positioning for his radiotherapy and then about 3 weeks after that he will undergo a 10 day treatment spread over 2 weeks.
It wasn't what we wanted to hear, but the consultant advised to take each day as it comes and that's how dad is living, knowing that at some point the end will come but being positive about every extra day he has.
Have you asked about immunotherapy? As I understand it you can have immunotherapy and radiotherapy. May be worth asking why it's not an option in your case
