Extreme Back Pain

As a stage 4 I'll assume he's not had an esophagectomy... so he has no incisions or laparoscopic holes causing any pain.
How many CT scans with contrast has he had... or PET scans?
Where are his mets seen... bones? Liver? Only lymph nodes?
What progress has been seen with his treatments, and what chemo, or chemoradiation treatments has he done to date?
Any immunotherapy?

Gary

He had 15 rounds of radiation last January and 4 rounds of chemotherapy. He decided he was done so last treatment was in April. Had one PET scan at the beginning of diagnosis. His cat scan in December with contrast showed he was stable and no change since his June scans. Mets were only in lymph nodes near the mass.

Holy cow... no distant lymph nodes even? Surprised he's considered a stage 4 with only nodes near his solid esophageal tumor lighting up. Was esophagectomy considered? And zero immunotherapy? Tumor biology known? Where is his care... or I should say where was his care? Last treatment was last April... oh my! His oncologist not recommending anything further? Signet ring... which doesn't show up on scans very well? Still trying to solve the riddle of his back pain. But in 8 months, with no further treatments... more cancer should have been seen by now. This is outstanding.

Oh boy I’ll answer what I know. Doctors said it was inoperable which I believe was due to lymph nodes. We are in Tampa. He was at St Joseph but is now with Florida Cancer Specialists. He just doesn’t want more treatments because it was really hard on him (he’s 66). He has a stent because of the mass. Game changer. I think he felt his diagnosis was a death sentence because he was told he was in palliative care because it was not curable . He was sick of being sick from the treatments and from what we were told it wouldn’t have made much of a difference long term. New doctor said he could try chemo at a lower dose but hubby not interested.

Not withstanding all of the other constructive input, your husband may be suffering from muscular back pain. Most of us in treatment find ourselves fatigued and lacking physical activity. As such, the upper back muscles, which are intricately intertwined can cause severe pain at the point of a muscle knot or beyond as referred pain. I'm 6 weeks post esophagectomy and have been experiencing significant pain in my scapular shelf with referred in my latimus dorsi. I'm also a personal trainer and am now engaging in my own physical therapy to strengthen and stretch these muscles. I'm making good progress so far. If your husband hasn't done physical therapy, I highly recommend it. It's sometimes amazing the relief a good therapist can bring. Best of luck to you.

I really think this is it. I looked up those terms you posted and it’s in the same area. Plus the oncologist said it was muscular. I am looking online for exercises he can do at home. He had a massage last week which didn’t help so hopefully some stretching and strength exercises will help. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

I would ask your oncologist if Mayo provides physical therapy for cancer patients. When we are in pain we tend to scrunch forward and become tight in the front delta and pectoral muscles. Exercises that strengthen and stretch these frontal areas releases tension on the upper back. There are also very specific stretches that work these upper back muscles. Google search "Physical Therapy Upper Back Pain" and look for credible sources for instructions and videos. If you can't get to a physical therapist on your insurance, you should be able to find some helpful resources online. Lastly, if the area seems inflamed, try icing 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. If no inflammation, heat treatment will help relax the muscles and promote healing. Feel free to reach out with questions.

I have a friend who is a physical therapist and reached out to her. She is going to call me later. She does in home and her group accepts Medicare. I’m happy you suggested this and I hope it helps him.

Awesome... best of luck to you both. It's tough enough battling cancer. You don't need back pain on top of that.

On the other hand, my husband has bone mets on the shoulder and other spots. But the shoulder gives him extreme pain on his back region. He uses lidocaine crème 4%(over the counter) and prescribed patches 5%, he also takes gavepantin and OxyContin every 8 hours. Since your husband hasn’t done any treatment or scan since April and December, I would ask the doctor to do more testing to make sure everything is clear.
He still young this decease is not a death sentence. On our smart patient group we hear so many in lighting stories.
Our 1st doctor gave my husband 12 months to live, here we are going to 18 and his doing fine. He is under treatment for sure, and will continue until he can.
It is a roller coaster with ups and downs but is worth the ride!!