Esophageal Cancer: Surgery Or Not?

I’m 38 and about to start chemotherapy for 3 months before I am going into surgery, I am worried , can anyone tell me what recovery is like? And don’t hold back your answers please I need an idea of what I’m facing
Cheers guys Alex

Alex
I was diagnosed with EC several years ago. I had 28 days of chemo and radiation. After 3 weeks, the tumor in my lower esophagus had shrunk 40%. And after treatment my scans showed the cancer was gone and my lymph nodes were back to normal. I did not have surgery. The treatments for cancer continue t improve so there is hope for a brighter future. Be aware the side affects are not fun and you may feel tired for a while. When do you start treatment?
Don

No need to worry. Yes, the recovery is tough and not much fun, but way better than the alternative. Your redesigned stomach will give you fits when you start eating normal foods again. You will spend lots of time in the bathroom, but eventually you will figure out the foods that are best for you and how to eat. Seems everyone is a little different when it comes to this part of their recovery. I always remember what my son said when I was having second thoughts about treatment, “Dad, do we have to sit here and watch you roll over and die, or are you going to stand up and fight this like the man we know you are”. I fought and dam glad I did. I am 5 years out from surgery and doing fairly well. Life isn’t perfect, but I am still enjoying time with family and friends. Take Care and Good Luck with your fight. No doubt in my mind that you will also win.

Surgery is rough and takes some time to recover. Mine was April 2023 and now at 68 years old I'm biking 20 miles a day on average and hiking short trails with the dog. My diet has changed of course; post-surgery there are a lot of foods I can no longer tolerate, and portions are drastically reduced. I eye the children's menu wistfully at restaurants. I'm 6 feet tall and before the cancer I was about 230 lbs. Now I'm 158 and still slowly losing weight, but I wake up next to my beautiful wife every morning and play with my grandchildren every week and that's well worth the struggle. Make sure your surgeon is BLUNT with you about the surgery. It is risky and it is a potentially brutal recovery at first. I was lucky to have an excellent doctor and a truly compassionate support staff of nurses and techs and physical therapists at the hospital. I went into the procedure scared and reluctant but promised myself I would do everything I could to fight and I can't emphasize enough how critical it is for you to do the same. I made myself take advantage of every opportunity to WALK starting the day after the operation. I absolutely didn't feel like it. Shuffling a few feet from the bed to a chair and back. Shuffling slowly to the hallway door and back. Walking with the therapists or nurse volunteers around the hallways. Making a point of being grateful and expressing that gratitude to the hospital staff for every frequent blood sugar finger prick or dressing change or temperature check. At the end of the day it saved my life. It will save yours, too.

38 years old. Not fair, but cancer is not fair. Your youth will help you greatly. get ready for a rocky road and focus on what you have to live for. You go where you look. Look forward.

I'm going to give my experience and please understand that yours may be different. I'm 62 stage 4 adenocarcinoma of stomach AND esophagus. I underwent chemo then surgery with gastric pull through and connection in the right neck.

chemo sucks. Depending on agents used, you will get multiple side effects. Nausea, loss of energy, constipation, mouth sores, weight loss, etc. I did 6 rounds of FLOT therapy and my body couldn't take anymore. 2 months recovery and weight gain then surgery.

I found that when I was constipated, my nausea and lack of appetite were the worst. Stool softeners were my friend as well as medical edible cannabis. also plenty of anti nausea meds. Everything made me tired and I spent a lot of time in my recliner instead of my sailboat. I couldn't work, immunosupression made me not be able to go out in crowds. I did work though. It's something that you go through and it gets better.

surgery sucks too. You won't be the first to go through it though. The people in the hospital will get you through. The adventure starts when you are home. feeding tube for sure. The constipation with chemo will be gone. Now it's time for diarrhea. I'm talking liquid. Never trust a fart. Eat as tollerated and once again you try not to loose too much weight. My pain was gone within 2 seeks. minor discomfort from feeding tube but benefits greatly outweigh the discomfort.

You are probably too young to remember SNL character Rosanna Rosanna Dana. she has a quote, "If its not this, it's that". There's also a game called Whack A Mole. When you whack one mole down, another pops up. Get ready to play this game and quote rosanna Rosanna Dana. Keep your sense of humor. It helps. We're with you and want to hear how it goes for you. I find great comfort in this group. I hope you do too. Best of luck in your journey. You can do it and you have so much living to do. Chin up Bro!

My husband was 74 when he had treatment and surgery. Not easy but definitely worth it. Best wishes

@alcfc1985, I add my welcome. I hope you saw the many helpful and honest replies you've received from members about what to expect. Do you have any follow-up questions? Have you started chemotherapy? How are you doing?

Hi all, my name is Larry and I'm 81 years old. My father past from EC within 7 days of being diagnosed almost 20 years ago. He had ignored all signs. Because of my fathers diagnosis I insisted on yearly endoscopies. Strangely my May 2023 endo was clear and the May 2024 was positive and stage 3 at the EGI junction, everyone was surprised how fast it had developed. Next week will be my 3rd chemo and 15th radiation. Looking forward because of my age I question whether I should opt for surgery after treatment assuming chemo/rad is successful.

Hi @larryaw, several members like @dsh33782 were treated successfully with chemo and radiation, no surgery. Age is an important factor to consider.

How are you doing on chemo and radiation? How many more treatments do you have?

Hi Lary
I'm 79 and have had 35 chemo and radiation treatments which were successful in eliminating tumor in lower esophagus. After that scans were clear and I did not need surgery. Let me know if I can help answer any questions you have.
Don