Husband diagnosed with oesophageal cancer

Hi,

You are still reeling from the shock of diagnosis and, at this stage, it can be hard to get past the “inoperable” prognosis. There are plenty of stories on here of people in similar situations who went on to be successfully treated using one or more of the various treatment options available (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, etc). Yes, your husband stands a chance but, whatever treatment plan is offered to him, he will need your help, support and positivity to help get him through it. The waiting for results, treatment plans and treatment are some of the hardest parts of the journey but try to stay strong and hopeful. I wish you both well on whatever pathway you follow

deffo ditto what cool blue has written, i was the one being treated, and  my husband just couldnt get his head round it all, even now post op, and going through immunotherapy, check up ct scans, and appointments, so glad to be here, but have had some really dark days.  even the surgeon said, the women are usually the rock, the glue that holds it together, even now i still struggle which has after effects.  this is an excellent family to have joined albeit none of us wanted to be here, or probably had a clue.  please reach out when ever, what ever it is for , you are in good, honest, compassionate supportive hands.  

take care jules

Hi , there are some very postive experiences on this forum. Certainly helped me during those early months which is almost coming up to a year . My husband was stage 4 with spread to distant lymph nodes . He was on Capox & pembro (immunotherapy) . The treatment banished the cancer from the lymph nodes and he had surgery in June. He had a reoccurrence in September and has had 5 rounds of a new radiotherapy. We sneakily know the small local reoccurrence has shrunk by a third and the radiotherapy will continue to do its work for another 3 weeks . Never give up hope . My husband's oncologist would never let me talk about the positive experiences people have had in the beginning. Soon started changing his tune . 
I wish you all the best xx

Hi,

Thank you everyone for your kind responses. I’m definitely in a much better frame of mind today ahead of tomorrow’s appointment. My husband is extremely strong headed, he’s dealt with all of this amazingly - I’m sure it’ll catch up with him at some point but he is smiling, eating, drinking; doing everything he can do to get through this (and he even gained a few pounds over the last week!).

I’m a little anxious of what is going to be said tomorrow, but we’ve been through hell and back together, there was always hope coming from both of us - this is just another storm we have to get through.

I will update once we’ve had some clarity from the oncologist.

Vic x

I’m really sorry to hear you and your family are going through this.

My husband was diagnosed in October 2023. He was stage 3 with spread to local lymph nodes. He had FLOT chemo and the surgery. 

Unfortunately his cancer returned as a lump in his arm (although I don’t think it was a recurrence) I think it had spread to his arm before he had chemo. 
He is current on chemo and a new type of targeted therapy.

Having lived with this for the last 2 years I have experienced all the emotions and lows so please message me if you ever want to talk or need any advice.

My husband is also 45 and we have 3 children. 

My wife was diagnosed stage 4 with spread to lymph nodes and pelvic area in Feb 2024.(Non operable)She had Capox and pembrolizumab for 8 cycles and has continued with the immunotherapy every 6 week since then.Scans since dec 2024 have shown no evidence of disease.

Hi everyone,

just a little update from me. His oncologist was the most awful person I have ever met and with the situation that my husband is facing, he literally had 0 people skills! He wouldn’t let me ask any questions, it was a bombardment of information with literally no time to process, 0 compassion. He was 30 minutes late and didn’t even ask my husband how he was feeling, he started off the conversation with “do you want to know how long you got left?” We obviously said no to which he then said “well I’m going to have to tell you at some point” - disgusting. I’ve requested a change of doctors for him, he didn’t even try and give him a glimmer of hope. There was no eye contact, no reassurance, nothing. It is stage 4.

anyway, after the chaos of that, he’ll be doing 6-8 capox chemo sessions starting on the 27th of November. They’ve sent his bloods off to decide whether immunotherapy is what he needs as well. 

We remain positive, level headed and we absolutely believe he can do this. We’ve had a lot of alone time with my husband, it definitely helped. We have an amazing family around us, as a unit, we’ll fight as much as we can for as long as we can

Much love to you all xx

Hi,

I can’t believe that your oncologist could be so insensitive and unprofessional. To not even allow you to ask any questions is simply beyond comprehension. I would report your experience and request/demand a second consultation with a different member of the oncology team. Nobody should have to experience what you have. The fact that you are able to remain positive after that is a great testament to you. As I mentioned in my previous post, there are plenty of stories on here from people who started of with similar prognoses to your husband who, nonetheless, achieved successful treatment outcomes. You should read some of them together. I sincerely hope that your husband will be one of them. Best wishes to you both, CB

Disgusting treatment . Reminds me of our meeting with the oncologist first time round. Do not let those words dull your shine & positivity! 
x

Hi,

I am sorry that you both find yourselves going through this, it is a difficult and unnerving time, and your combined strength will be needed to fight some of the battles that it looks like you have already encountered, the oncologist should never have addressed either of you in the way they did and it is only right that you have requested a different one.  

There are going to be many things for you to consider as you travel this journey together, if you haven't already seen these links, they may help in some way.

Link   Link 2  or there are a great deal more on Here

They are all links into the Macmillan site, but do not overload yourselves if you can help it, though I am sure you will want to know as much as you can possibly find out.

There are other forums, like the family and friends which may be a source of support for you, but know you are welcome here and if you need to ask anything, this is the place to do it. 

Lowe'