My fathers diagnosis - please help

I won't be able to help at the moment unfortunately. I'm sorry to hear about your dad's diagnosis. I too have been told that I have the same cancer but have not been made aware of the staging yet. I'm sure you and your dad are fearing the worst but hoping for the best, just like me and my wife. If be taking chemo right now if I could but until everything has been looked at I suppose they don't know which drugs to use but the waiting is the worst thing.

I was given a good book to read from Macmillan at the hospital it tells you all you need to know. While you will be tempted to read the stories of others please remember that we are not all the same and their story isn't yours. Obviously they will be those who don't make it and others that will. It's going to be a long and tough journey though. Please stay strong and believe that dad is going to beat it. You'll get all the medical advice you need as things proceed and that will be your best advice.

Good luck to you both going forward. Hugs and best wishes.

Hi Opey

I am a 72 year old male and I was very recently diagnosed with oesophageal cancer myself, having undergone an endoscopy and a PET/CT scan. The diagnosis was T4 N3 with metastasis into a bone in my back. So Stage 4 tumour 22cm down from back of teeth and 5cm in size, with 3 lymph nodes affected. Unfortunately the bone metastasis means an operation is not possible. In your dads case if the cancer has not spread anywhere else then an operation is possible. I am now 2 weeks into an 18week course of chemo. I am on two drugs and also have bone therapy treatment to keep my bones healthy whilst undergoing treatment. The drugs are Oxaliplatin, (given once intravenously every 3 weeks at the hospital, takes about 2/3 hours). Capecitabine (taken in tablet form twice daily) and Denosumab as an injection for the bone therapy every 4 weeks. 
I have been experiencing some side effects from the treatment but nothing too bad. The first weekend after I started treatment was a little scary in that I was experiencing bad bloating in my abdomen and was very tired, lack of appetite, lost a little weight through not eating and just felt genuinely down and I was worried about this being the norm?. However, I made the mistake of not taking the anti-sickness pills I had been given, foolishly I did not associate my symptoms with feeling sick, once I started taking the sickness pills within 24 hours I was beginning to feel my old self again, the stomach issues disappeared and I got my appetite back……..marvellous.

By the way I forgot to mention at the start that I had been having difficulty with swallowing food, especially solid food like meats and also bread. The tumour was restricting the oesophagus. I can now say that even after 2 weeks on the chemo this problem has eased and although I still cannot eat steak etc, I am able to eat softer foods, including chicken and meat, as long as they are cut into small pieces. So there is definite improvement there.

With regards to your dad it looks like his staging is earlier than mine, hence the possibility of an operation. That is good news in the sense he has the chance of a better outcome than I have. Having said that we are all different and will have different responses to treatment. In my case I am feeling confident that the treatment seems to be working and with the help of family and friends (some of whom are going through cancer treatment themselves) I am looking forward with optimism that this thing can be beaten.

Hope all this helps and I wish your dad all the luck in the world, tell him to try not too worry, he will be well looked after by his medical team.