Mother-in-law (Mum's) diagnosis with oesophageal cancer last week

Hello again, Liz

In answer to your question about the stent, yes, it made an immediate difference to the swallowing.  During his first round of chemo, he became severely dehydrated, partly because of severe diarrhoea, but also because he found swallowing so difficult.  He could only eat half a teaspoon at a time.  The weight just fell away.

When he was admitted to hospital, it wasn’t planned to do the stent procedure.  That all happened very suddenly and without much communication, I have to say.  It was a very unpleasant experience for him, as he wasn’t given an anaesthetic.  However, the following morning he was eating cornflakes, and he was discharged later that day.

When he came home, he had lots of soups and creamy puddings at first, then mince and mash, and shepherds pie of course, but gradually, he was able to cope with more texture, and we’ve devised the routine which I wrote about on the website.  He’ s had one or two setbacks since the radiotherapy, but steroids seem to sort it out, and on the whole, his weight continues to increase, and he certainly eats a lot now.  

The stent isn’t comfortable, however, and he finds it difficult to sit or sleep in certain positions.  He also produces a lot of mucus, but whether that’s down to the stent or a result of the radiation, we don’t know.  But although it’s not all plain sailing, it has made a great difference to him.

I hope this helps.  I can understand why your father doesn’t want treatment, but a stent could possibly improve the quality of his life.

Best wishes

Chris

Sending love and hugs to all who are experiencing the anxiety and uncertainty that goes hand-in-hand with any type of C diagnosis. With regards to nutrition, I have found that making daily smoothies are a great source of nutrition. Swapping between fruit and veg smooties, or a mixed smoothie incorporating, spinach, broccoli, beetroot, pineapple, peaches, fruit juice of various flavours and in some instances cream or full fat milk, have all helped in the early days after diagnosis.  I have started a blog of my Husbands current journey, he has a T3N3M1 diagnosis, treatable but incurable, he is 52. Currently he does not have a stent and since starting chemo (he has just finished his 4th FLOT) he has been able to eat well again. I have added the link to the blog, just in case it can offer some insight. 

https://community.macmillan.org.uk/blogs/b/facing-the-future-together

Happy to chat with anyone who needs a virtual ear to talk too, it is sometimes better to share than to store... Take Care x

Lowe'

Hi beatriceh,

Really sorry to hear about your mother-in-law's diagnosis.  My husband was diagnosed last year (stage 4) so I understand how difficult all this is.

I just wanted to offer a tip that a dietitian gave us to put on weight - basically using milk powder to "fortify" food.  So mix 4 tablespoons of milk powder to 1 pint of milk to fortify it, it doesn't really change the taste and you can use it anywhere where you're using milk.  My hubby was having at least a glass of milk daily so this helped, and you can also use it in mashed potato, tea/coffee etc - just a little tip but I found it helpful.

Stay strong and I wish you all the best, I've sent you a friend request so feel free to reach out it you ever need to 'chat' 

xx

Hello there

i struggle with this site but I happened on your post. I hope by now you have had the scan results and they were good news.

My husband had the same diagnosis last October and finds eating a chore. My only tip is chocolate eclairs. I get them from M&S in packs of four and they seem to go down easily. He has Fresubin drinks on prescription to boost his calorie intake and sometimes he can manage a sausage roll.

Good luck to your Mum in law.