What is Esophageal Cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes. Esophageal tumors usually lead to dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), pain and other symptoms, and is d...
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Not keeping food down after surgery
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My husband was diagnosed with stage 1 esphogeal cancer 1 1/2 years ago. I was naive and thought that after surgery all would be grand. After all he didn't have to have chemo or radiation and since they took the cancer out all would be the same. OH SO NOT! He has gone through a major depression and is finally starting to do somewhat better and is now in counseling. However ever since the surgery he is unable to go most days without vomiting at least once a day. The doctors have done all the tests and find nothing physically wrong. It does not seem to matter that much what he eats. Anyone else out there having the same problem?
Posted on 10/13/09, 01:10 pm |
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I did have the problem for a while, if it's food coming back up within say 20-30 minutes of eating? For me, I learned it was from the volume of food I was eating. What I started doing (in the beginning) was I knew I could eat 4 saltine crackers with a piece of American cheese split in 4's and a little drink and it would never give me problems. I started judging my volume from that and worked my way up - in time. In the beginning I could eat an apple by itself....or a half sandwich by itself, etc. As long as I kept my portions small I didn't have that need of feeling sick or having to have it come back up. Now, I eat more. I had stage 3 esophageal cancer and my surgical date was Nov '08, so I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary from surgery.
If he's vomiting like from a sick stomach like we used to get as kids, then that would be different than what I was doing. You might check with his gastroenterologist or family Dr. and let them know it is almost a daily issue for him. I can tell you that my life is back to normal, so I believe we should be able to get back to that. The only difference is we'll probably always needs to eat more often and less food at each sitting. Kinda like grazing during the day. There are a lot of support systems out there, if you need any #'s or information, let me know. I've been meaning to add that information to my journal entry so there is always easy access to the information. I, fortunately, haven't had to deal with depression through any of this or of my husband having a stroke 9 months prior to my finding out I had esophageal cancer - and I was his caretaker. So I'll hope someone else will address that issue for you. I think I was just so grateful to be alive for the both of us that, that took over all other emotions. Hang in there - I know this isn't easy on a spouse to see us go through this either! I'll lift up a prayer for him to find comfort with eating and that he has a complete recovery and that you get the answers you're seeking for him! God bless. Brenda 
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