About johnem
I am johnem. I am 83 years old and live in Staffordshire. I worked in education, first secondary then higher, before moving into development aid consultancy in Africa and Asia. I retired in the 1990's..
I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer after having gastroscopy in October 2021 and have now received 6 cycles out of a total prescribed 8 cycles of chemotherapy. Treatments comprise of a two-hour drip of Oxaliplatin once every three week followed by 21 days of Capecitabine tablets amounting to 650 mg twice per day. Surgery was out of the question because of age. I also suffer from COPD which means my lungs are compromised, making radiotherapy more problematic.
The first 4 cycles of chemotherapy went well with little impact on daily life. Since the fifth cycle I have been feeling less well. I started to feel more pain from the area of my tumour when swallowing and more discomfort with eating. Food became a lot less attractive and remains so at the moment. I was prescribed pain relief, including Codeine which had unpleasant effects on my digestive system. I have reverted to soluble paracetamol as my main pain relief. I have also been a lot less active since the end of the fourth cycle. Up to that point I was walking regularly to maintain a reasonable level of exercise. This is now more difficult to keep up and my level of interest has diminished. I remain reasonably upbeat about it all although it can get a bit difficult to put up with the discomfort at times. I guess being that bit older helps in avoiding the worst of depression while looking back on a good life
My experience with the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust has been exemplary. All have been very supportive and caring.
