Squamous Cell cancer lower oesophagus - anyone else?

Hi Glenis 

How is your daughter getting on with her treatment? Hope she is coping ok, it's a lot to deal with. 

Amanda 

Hi Amanda,

My daughter really struggled with her treatment last week after having a reaction to chemotherapy on Monday,so they stopped it, gave her antihistamine and then resumed at a slower rate. After that she struggled with nausea and vomiting for the whole week.

This week she has been a lot better after finding an alternative treatment to help with her symptoms. She got through the chemo yesterday, with no hiccups (excuse the pun!), thank goodness, and her appetite has improved, although swallowing is getting more difficult.

She has only got 6 more radiotherapy sessions to go and her last chemotherapy on Monday. Hip hip hooray!

Hope you are feeling well and positive.

Best wishes to you in the future,

Glenis

Hello I hope you are doing well. Sending you lots of love and best wishes. My mom has also been diagnosed with squamous cell cancer. Suspected primary location is oesophagus. She starts chemotherapy this week. We are all very anxious but I trying to remain hopeful 

Hi HopefulGabby

I'm sorry to hear of your mum's diagnosis. It is a very anxious time. Sometimes when treatment actually starts it feels like you're taking control of the situation. Is your mum having just chemotherapy or radiotherapy as well? Is she having the operation too? 

I had chemotherapy and radiotherapy, no operation. I'm three years clear. 

Keep in touch,

Amanda 

She is stage 4 and has only been given palliative chemotherapy (cisplatin IV and capecitabine tablets). We are still so hopeful and reading these forums fills me with even more hope  

she is 63 years old so hoping the chemo goes well for her.

What stage were you if you don’t mind me asking? 

Glad to hear you are three years clear!

with lots of love, positivity & faith 

Gabby x

Hi Gabby. I was stage 3/4 and had chemo + radiotherapy. Am still here a year later and latest tests were tumour free. Hoping your mother does well and the treatment buys some good quality years for her. It’s a very unpleasant disease and deeply worrying for everyone involved. We are here to offer support and encouragement in any way we can, so please keep us posted. Best wishes. 

Hi Gabby 

My diagnosis was T2N0M0. I was 53 at the time of diagnosis. My tumour had blocked my oesophagus completely. The first cisplatin session shrank my tumour a lot. 

Hopefully your mum will get on well with her treatment. 

Let us know how she gets on, we're here to support you 

Amanda x 

Hi Gabby. Sorry to hear about your Mom. Such a big shock to everyone concerned. I was also 63 when I was given my diagnosis of SCC of the Oesophagus (T3N0M0) last May.
I had the same Chemo regime prescribed to your Mom for 11 weeks, but also had 25 sessions of Radiotherapy tagged onto the last five weeks. I also did have the operation 10 weeks later. 
With regard to the Chemo how is your Mom coping? I was very tired and lethargic but didn’t really have any other symptoms. Has she noticed any relief in symptoms? 
If you have any questions at all, please come back to us on this forum. It’s so difficult for everyone and we totally understand your anxiety. Take care. Julie 

Hi Julie,

it was a shock to us all too! Especially because mom has never smoked or drank and lived a very healthy lifestyle. She climbed snowdon with me two years ago! 

Did you have any symptoms prior to starting chemo? Mom has a lot of gas bloating tummy pain and issues with bowel movements. 

she started chemotherapy yesterday and so far no improvements to her symptoms but she has slept more (which is welcome as she was having trouble sleeping too) 

Was the operation offered to you from the start? I’m not sure if they will offer it to her. We’ve also been told the suspected primary location is the oesophagus by the Compton nurses notes because our oncologist told us it was the oesophagus and then when she went to a skin specialist they looked at her notes and said it wasn’t the primary locatioN but her skin, ent and gynaecology appointments went well and they weren’t concerned about anything. 

im doing everything I can to look after her (I live at home still) and just want my mom to have lots more years so she can do all the fun things in life with us (she’s only ever worked and has put everyone else’s needs above her own always) 

sorry for the long message! 

how are you doing post op? Does life feel relatively normal ? & I hope your family are taking good care of you. 

sending you lots of love and positivity 

Gabby x

That’s really positive! Sounds like cisplatin worked a miracle for you. How long did it take for your symptoms to reduce ? 

she started chemotherapy yesterday. So far no improvements but staying hopeful and sticking to the advice we’ve been given. 

sending you lots of love and light & hope you’re doing well

gabby x