Esophageal Cancer Support Group
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 diagnosed with biopsy. Small and localized tumors are treated with surgery, and advanced tumors are treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or combinations.
Hi folks. My Stage 4 brother has been on a Taxol/Herceptin regime and is now beginning a four-week break from the Taxol. He's pleased as the stuff has been making him feel quite nauseous. Alas it's also caused considerable neuropathy in his feet, to the extent that he sometimes has trouble walking. I know neuropathy is subject to improvement over time...has anyone else experienced this? Did your hands and/or feet ever return to normal? How long did it take?
I have neuropathy myself (from a drug, but not chemo). It's fairly profound. Initially, I had difficulty walking, especially on stairs. As time went by, I adapted. I try to protect my feet by wearing slippers at all times while inside the house. And, I purchased a type of clog to wear in the yard. When it first happened, I discovered that my ability to feel hot pavement was diminished so I never go barefoot anymore. All in all, I'm very protective of my feet.
From what I understand, there's no exact science to determining if neuropathy will decrease and how long it might take. I tell my husband a little numbness in his feet was worth it since the chemo helped him survive. But, I understand how stressful it is when it first occurs.
I have peripheral neuropathy from another chemo drug, cisplatin. At it's worst It affected my lower legs, hands and forearms - numbness and a tingling like electric shocks. To avoid permanent damage my oncologist stopped cisplatin and changed to carboplatin. Over a few weeks the neuropathy started to improve, the tingling stopped, and now all that remains is some numbness in my feet.