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.

172 Members
831 Posts
0 Online
Cancers
/ Esophageal Cancer Support Group

Treatment Side Effects

deleted_user
deleted_user
Everyone's story is different, but still there are similaities. My husband is now half way through his chemo and radiation for adenocarcinoma of his esophagus. He is Stage 2 with possible lymph node involvement (it wasn't conclusive). He has had some side effects. He's fallen twice - they think it's because with the weight loss his BP has gone down. He's had a nose bleed. My daughter is in med school and says that's common with chemo patients. He's had nausea. Sometimes he can eat soft foods and sometimes it's liquids only. I've learned to do smoothies with protein powder, yogurt, fruit etc. He has soup frequently. And, he's very, very tired. Just going for the appointments is about all he feels up to doing. But, he has a good attitude and I share other experiences from this website. We look forward to finishing the chemo and radiation and moving on to surgery. This website has helped me immensely. First, it gave me hope, then it gave me information. It is so helpful to exchange experiences. And, we look forward to traveling again eventually. I came to this site in the depths of despair one night and now I have hope for a future with my husband. Thank you to all who have shared.
Brenda2008
Brenda2008
Sounds like things are going pretty well. I didn't have falls or nose bleeds, but I was very, very, very tired! Just be sure you keep letting the oncologist and nurses know when he has anything new (side affect), etc., so they can address if anything needs to be done or changed. I'm glad you're on the site and sharing too :-) Hugs, Brenda
deleted_user
deleted_user
Paul, my husband had a couple nosebleeds, but we had figured it wasn't a big deal as he has had them before. His biggest complaint was the fatigue. He finished Chemo on April 24 due to low blood counts but continued with Radiations until May 15th. Managed to eat small amounts up until the very end of treatments.

He actually feels more nauseated and tired now that the treatments are finished. Only taking very small amount of liquid at the moment, but has a J-Tube, so not too worried about nutrition.

We are hoping to have the surgery in mid-June. No date yet as he needs to get a PET and CT scan and another endoscopy with the surgeon.

All the best to you and your husband. Will keep you in my prayers,
Jo
bonecanyonranch
bonecanyonranch
Theren are a number of medications that can be taken for nausea. During and after radiation and chemotherapy, I took

Ondansetron 8 mg
Promethezine 25 mg
Lorazapam 0.5 mg

Three times a day each and I was relatively comfortable.

Later I also found that in addition if I took 5 mg of Dronabinol one hour before meals it helped my appetite.

I was able to stop all of the above drugs at about four weeks after my last radiation treatment.

A week after surgery I had to go back on all of them and now, six months after surgery I am slowly dropping the anti nausea drugs, one at a time.
deleted_user
deleted_user
I'm new to this support group as of today. I was diagnosed with SCC Stage 2 in mid-chest area on Aprl 18th. Began chemo/radiation on May 14th. I've only had one nose bleed, not much fatigue. I have 1 week left of chemo/radiation and the side effects are just now becoming more intense. I've had difficulty swallowing throughout but find it's easier to get calories I need so I don't lose too much weight if I eat/dink something every 2 hours. I drink 2 Ensure a day for nutritiona and protein but have had to stay on a soft food diet. The burning from radiation has become intense. I will be having surgery 4-6 weeks after treatment ends. I was told that the more calories you can take in each day, the fewer side effects you'll have and I think that's been true for me. It's not easy; I have to really force myself to eat/drink. The smoothies with protein powder and yogurt and fruit are great but he might want to try Ensure or something similar.
I will keep both of you in my prayers.
deleted_user
deleted_user
He had to give up the smoothies a couple of weeks ago. He's had a horrible time since last week. He finished radiation on Friday. He's hardly able to drink anything, and can't eat at all. So, he's been on IV fluids for a week. We go in every other day and will continue until he can take in enough fluids. The doctors have said it's like having a severe burn and that most people get worse at the end and even after treatment is completed. He tries to get an Ensure down each day, but it's tough for him. Unfortunately my husband didn't get a J-Tube because they didn't want to delay starting his treatment.
Brenda2008
Brenda2008
I had the same problem from radiation. Fortunately, not everyone has it to this extreme and I'm sorry he does too.. I could only let ice chips slowly melt in my mouth and I'd get my liquid pain medicine (Roxicet) down, but that was it. The pain medicine never cut my pain, so I was really looking forward to my surgery to just get it out! I did have a feeding tube, but never could use it very successfully myself. It was most effective for me when the hospital was using it during my surgery stay. I had to get fluids a couple times from dehydration. Just have him do the best he can and have them watch him closely to help in anyway they can to get nutrition. Do you have your surgery date or do they wait until he's completed treatment to schedule? It's been nearly 5 years for me, so I don't recall all the details anymore. Hang in there. It must help a lot having a daughter in medical school. Bet she has tools to research and get answers along the way for you both. Hoping things improve soon. Brenda
deleted_user
deleted_user
We got a surgery date yesterday! July 10. I'm so excited to get to this point. But, the PET scan has to look ok. He's had such a difficult time with radiation and chemo, I'm wondering how the surgery will go. I feel so much for everyone who has gone through all this. Only someone who has gone through it, can truly understand. I observe and suffer with him. I hope that eventually he can eat a fairly normal diet again. I love to cook and we always enjoyed preparing meals together. At least I'm willing to get creative. I saw recipes for mixtures of mashed recipes in a Martha Stewart magazine and told him eventually I would like to cook them for him. Of course, just talking about food right now makes him turn green!
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hopefully a J-tube will be installed during his surgery. This is a great way to stabilize nutrition/calorie intake, etc. until he can gradually transition to normal food. I didn't lose any weight while on a J-tube for about four months after the surgery and could easily take care of this function myself (I live alone). It's really simple. Thank God you have a surgery date quite soon. I've known other EC patients who, because of chemo/rad issues, had J-tubes installed prior to surgery but they hesitate because it means creating a hole in the intestine which they worry might complicate the esophagectomy. Good luck to you!! Just know that most of us have fully recovered within six months!
deleted_user
deleted_user
I had my surgery last September, followed by more chemo and finally finished in December, just before Christmas. I then went on a cruise in January, 2013. I admit that I lost a heap of weight, had no energy with the chemo, but I was well looked after by the oncology department with all the side effects, very little nausea, but hated the mouth ulcers etc. The surgery was enormous, I had the Ivor Lewis and it took a lot out of me at the time, but I was able to commence my 2nd lot of chemo 5 weeks after. You really do have to take one day at a time during all your treatment, and even after. I got the all clear in December, Stage 3 Adenocarcinoma of the gastric dura and it had spread to my lymph nodes. But at this time I am clear and having 3 months scans to prove it. I however with all this great news am still very tired. I expected after all this was over to just bounce back to good health, but the procedures do take a large toll on you, and you have to be gentle on yourself.
Posts You May Be Interested In
  • deleted_user

    Food Allergy?

    Posted by: deleted_user
    Last Reply: Iafaforallergy
    7
    My 6mo twin DD's are EBF and just started rice cereal on the first. Everything has been going fine except this morning one of them had a diaper rash (lots of redness around her anus). I read this as one of the signs of an allergy. BUT I did just buy a different brand diaper yesterday (which they have used randomly before w/no issues). Do you think its the cereal or the diaper? Im ready to start...