Dad-advanced stages Oesophageal cancer and spread to Liver

Hiya 

I’m sorry to hear about your dad. Has he had any CT, MRI, PET scans yet? 

My partner has 2 stents and has had some Debulking agent on his tumour in the oesophagus to make more space for swallowing internally. Hopefully your dad will be offered some chemotherapy to help xx

Hi,

Thank you for replying. He has had a CT but still waiting to have an MRI and PET. I wonder if it is common to wait so long for these scans?

He has lost 3 and a half stone prior to hospital admission and took 4 days from admission for TPN to be started.

It feels as though it shouldn't take so long for MRI/PET and treatment to commence with it being so advanced but it seems they won't make a treatment plan without biopsy results.

I hope the stents and debulking agent has helped your partner with swallowing? Did he have any complications after the stent procedure? 

Xx

Luckily we have private medical insurance so he had all 3 scans in one day and got results the next day. His stents were fitted about 4 months apart. They did cause some pain, they say it can take around 3 days for it to settle but he suffered some pain for a few weeks/months. Only uncomfortable pain, nothing major. 

I guess they need the biopsy results to determine what treatment is suitable. This did take 2 weeks for us. 

my partner is HER2 positive and that’s the result we got from the biopsy. He had just started a new treatment this week and I’m preying it works xx 

My partner has also lost around 3.5-4 stone. It’s so hard this illness, thinking of you all xx 

Hi DD28

My hubby was diagnosed Dec 23 with spread to liver he was 56, once it has metastised surgery isn't an option. My hubby couldn't swallow or keep foods down at the beginning. He had 6 cycles of chemo and 10 sessions of radiotherapy last year and is currently on cycle 3 of 2nd line chemo and is doing better.

You will probably feel better when you have a treatment plan in place.

Never up hope and stay positive.

I really hope the new treatment works for your partner too xxx

Thank you so much for your reply. Sounds very similar. How was your husband helped with feeding and nutrition?

Has he suffered badly with with any Chemo/radio side effects? 

I will keep the faith. Despite the dramatic weight loss he has both mental and physical strength on his side. He can't bear to be in hospital so just really hoping we can get him home ASAP but I know that will probably be a way off as he has only been in for 1 week. 

Hi sorry to hear about your dad ! I was in hospital on TPN for a month while they were doing scans tests. I expect he will have a feeding tube fitted before he is allowed home so he can carry on with the feeding. Take care Tricia x

So he’s been on 2 types of chemo and now on his 3rd. He has had his moments but is still coping well. He seems to find the first week hard work with sickness and fatigue. He’s lost a lot of weight and his muscles have reduced a lot. He is still very fit and healthy and he doesn’t have any other health issues which is good. 
he is fed up of feeling the way he does now. 
he just wants to feel normal :( 

he has been in hospital a few times and once was when he couldn’t swallow anything due to the tumour blocking. They put him on fluids via his picc line and didn’t want to fit a feeding tube. He also didn’t want a feeding tube. He has had moments where he can’t eat anything and currently he is doing really well with food. He has been given shakes and jelly, yogurts etc on prescription but he doesn’t really like them. He has just learnt how to eat with his condition. Everything he eats he has with gravy, sour cream, extra sauce and he eats with a spoon now as with a fork you don’t get as much wetness. He eats smaller amounts and everything is cooked very soft. He eats the odd soup when he can’t be bothered with the faff as his meals get cold due to how long it takes to eat. 
cereal goes down well and he loves a cup of tea and a few biscuits. 

He was in a local NHS hospital and I will admit they were awful. We changed his oncologist to one in London and they were fantastic. He went into their hospital and they were amazing. He is not even 40 yet. It’s been a very tough journey so far and we’ve experienced a lot in the last year. Sorry for the long message but feel free to ask any questions. 

where abouts do you live? X

Hey lovely, so sorry you are all going through this.  56 is so young too.  My Dad who's 77 was diagnosed with Stage 4 Esophagus Cancer just over a year ago.  It was attached to his windpipe so they couldn't operate or give him Radiotherapy,  but he did have 12 rounds of Folfox Chemo as a palative treatment.   Before the chemo Dad literally couldnt eat at all.  He lost 3 stone in 3 months and lived on ensure drinks (when he could manage them).  The Tumour has shrunk from 13.5cm to 4.8cm and has been stable there since he finished the Chemo in September last year.  His PICC line was taken out and he can eat n drink again now as long as he's very careful .  They gave him a year 14 months ago and he's doing well so far.  We are just taking things a day at a time and doing all the things he wants to do while he's well enough.  Here if you need to chat x