my dad has recently been diagnosed with oesophageal cancer and I’m terrified, hospital have seemed to right him off at the clinic appointment due to him being 77, although fit and health and very active, now sending him for MRI
Sorry to hear about your Dads diagnosis. What has made you think that they have written him off? There are a number of scans and tests that need to be performed in order to stage the cancer. The MRI is often the first, after the gastroscope, so it doesn’t sound like they have written him off at all.
Once all the tests have been completed the multi disciplinary team (the MDT) will meet and decide on the most appropriate treatment pathway. It is a fairly lengthy process taking a number of weeks before any treatment starts.
Depending on exactly what kind of tumour it is surgery and chemotherapy are often the best option but the surgery is pretty major so he would need to have a good level of fitness and a positive attitude to recover well.
Your dads specialist nurse will guide him through the process and be able to address any concerns and answer any questions you might have. One of the most common questions is about prognosis, or how long has he got. Statistics are impossible to apply to an individual so don’t think about googling. The Macmillan site has all the information you could wish for on oesophageal cancer.
So everyone needs to stay positive and trust the medical and nursing teams to do the best for your dad.
I’m sure that isn’t the case, although sometimes at the start of the journey it can feel like that. There are lots of hurdles to get over before proper treatment starts, pet scans, laparoscopy, etc these all seem to take an age but with each one your dad will be a step closer. My dad is nearly 73 has multiple health issues including COPD, previous dvt, high blood pressure etc but last week he had his oesphagectomy operation. Stay positive it’s a tough road but no one will be writing your Dad off they are just finding out what his needs are and what the best route is for him to take.
It’s good that your Dad feels well in himself, positivity goes a long way. Now’s the time to start building up fitness for the journey ahead. Exercise, good diet, plenty of rest and throw in some normality (my mum had my dad doing plenty of little household chores!) I think life very often starts revolving around the cancer and it can become all encompassing.
He’s still fixing cars and going out, we walked Blackpool front as he doesn’t feel ill and is eating normally and I’m struggling to sleep and rest more than him
Hi my dad (75) was diagnosed by gastroscopy then this was followed about 3 weeks later by an appointment with the Upper GI surgeon at the Cancer Centre and he had a CT-PET scan 2 weeks after that.
Things then moved quickly to him starting chemotherapy. Unfortunately he was unable to continue with this and after a 3 week gap has now started radiotherapy. His surgery is booked for 27th August.
I hope this gives you reassurance and some idea of the time scales involved
Please don’t think they have ‘written off’ your dad because there will be treatment plans being discussed by his doctors. My dad has a lovely specialist nurse connected to the Oesophagogastric Cancer Multidisciplinary Team who he can speak to at any time about any concerns and she keeps him updated and reassures him. Perhaps you can be put in touch with one?
