Dad's oesophageal cancer diagnosis

glad i could make you smile, had breast cancer chemo at stoke mandeville, then radiotherapy at churchill oxford, then this little sh~te said a new hello diagnosed july this year, so as not breast related or linked to where the masectomy was, chemo and radiotherapy and upper GI team all looking after us/treatment now at the churchill.

all hugs gratefully received!, cant even pimp the pump up as i found out it has to go back at some point, annoying

take care, here if you need anything x

Hi Lorraine,

The tumour is at the junction of the oesophagus and the stomach. The impact of the treatment was noticeable from the first round in November last year. I went from a position where I could barely eat and I had an NG fitted before the first chemo session to being able to swallow food again within about 10 days. I was also on the FolFox and Nivolumab. This was fortnightly for 6 sessions and then another 6 sessions, also fortnightly. The scan in-between the two sets fortunately showed a reduction in the size of the tumour. I had to miss the second to last planned treatment as my blood results didn't pass muster at the time. Since then, I've had Nivolumab every 4 weeks. The last scan showed further improvement too. 

I was able to eat fairly normally from December last year. For reasons that we've not been able to identify (given that the tumour itself has been shrinking) I started having eating problems around July. By this I mean that it has been difficult and painful to swallow food, even if I eat it slowly or chew it finely. I can eat, but I find it a struggle. The problems with excess saliva started in late August/early September. Since mid-September I've been on Dexamethasone which has helped with my appetite and desire to eat, plus the pain meds I mentioned before. 

Good luck to all who are working through their own struggles with this and also the people supporting them.

Matt

Jules, just read that last paragraph out to Rod. We're sat in bed laughing  

Thank you xxx

Thanks, Matt. That's helpful to know. I want to be prepared for all eventualities as much as possible on my husband's cancer journey. So far, it's pretty much the same as yours, but without the NG (don't know what that is) and that he may be on a trial drug, or the placebo.

All the best to you too 

Lorraine

NG is Nasogastric - feeding tube via the nose. Sorry - should’ve been clearer!

Good luck with the trial too if he can get on to it. 

All the best,

Matt

Where is the pain you described, Matt? 

It's fairly high up between the back of the throat and the middle of the chest, when I'm trying to eat. It's as though there's an air bubble that gets stuck in the oesophagus and it's difficult to get it out. 

Hi w1cky,

Thank you for your response, its been helpful to understand. My dad has been coughing quite a lot now too, is this normal, the doctor checked his chest but said all was fine. He can have cough medicine just to wet the throat but its likely to come straight back up. 

Hi Matt,

Really appreciate your response, and it has been very helpful. I find these forums make it feel like we are not alone. When you had chemotherapy did you have a cough? he's been coughing a lot the last few days but his chest is clear. Doctor said he can have cough medicine even though he will bring it back up just to wet the throat. 

Good luck in your journey Matt. 

Hi KXmas, 

I don't think I did have a cough while I had chemo. I can imagine that would be quite irritating though. I hope the cough medicine helps. 

Good luck, 

Matt