Living life after treatment and surgery for Esophageal Cancer.

I'm doing good . 3 of 5 chemo done. I have 1 a week. Proton therapy 11 to go out of 26. Exactly the same weight that I started this journey. Not much in side effects. Nausea once in a while. That's about it. I know they should get worse. Take it as it comes. Suppose to have minimal invasive surgery a few months from now. Cancer has not spread. Lower esophagus removed along with healthy upper stomach. I will research this and make a decision. Right now it seems the survival rate is the same. With or without the surgery. Either way about 3 years. With surgery your quality of life is poor. Without you can have a couple of years of good life.

I was just diagnosed with stage 2 esophageal cancer have not started anything; surgery was mentioned but don't think i will go that way

I was not a candidate for surgery due to age 79 and being on high blood pressure meds.
Don

I'm trusting My Jesus for help and praying for everyone that's facing the same pestilence from hell. its just surgery is too rough and not my thing.

Someone else, who is never hungry. Since my gastric esophageal resection 2 years ago, there has been no sense of hunger. So it is up to me to make sure that there are regular small meals. That is the disadvantage. The advantage is there is no discomfort of hunger. Guess the stomach can’t shrink any smaller. Having been a vegetarian, since age 14, the ‘do not eat’ list has no real meaning to me…eat fibrous fruits and veggies. The only limitation is prior chemo induced changes…don’t like beans, which were once a protein mainstay, and most other foods. Have to make myself eat things no longer enjoyed to get proper nutrition. Weight hovers just 10 lbs less at 150 lbs. In the summer that drops a bit due to a lot of physical activity, which is the same as preop. No loss of strength.

Question: Have you had any resurgence of hunger feelings?

Had surgery, followed by immunotherapy. Surgery couldn’t get margins, but three weeks after initiating immunotherapy, a CT indicated no tumor cells present. Subsequent CTs and MRIs, as well as a year of immunotherapy. Immunotherspy is a game changer. Feel the same as before diagnosis and as physically active, which is a lot.

My surgery was at age 80, followed by immunotherapy. Always physically active, my activity level and strength are up to prediagnosis levels. Can not understand a doc saying don’t do the surgery at 74, unless one was frail. Yeah, it is not an easy deal. But pushing myself from the morning after, made a huge difference, compared to others. Walked multiple times every day postop, and the docs gave the okay for me to go home the morning of the fifth day post op. They said that thd key, though was willingness to push myself.

How are y’all doing now? Two years postop and post-immunotherapy I’m essentially about the same physically as post-diagnosis, except still feeling my way nutritionally. My experience with advice from nutritionists was essentially the same as yours. My advantage was having done doctoral studies in nutritional biochemistry in the 1970s. Found it best to ascertain what was needed on my own, based on the effects of chemo and surgery. Just found this Mayo Clinic site, which has been somewhat helpful. Example: Not the only one, who doesn't experience hunger anymore. That means being aware of time between eating and pushing myself to eat, even though no longer caring for about 85% of prediagnosis liked foods, as a consequence of chemo.

You WILL make it. Wanting to live and consequently pushing yourself is key. Through my, so far 2.5 yr journey with gastricesophageal cancer, the key has been willingness to push myself to live a lot longer. At this point, still learning to deal with the nutritional aspects. That is following doctoral studies in nutritionalbiochemistry. Handling the aspects of nutrition postdiagnosis is a new ball game. Having talked with folks in a similar predicament, the key to survival is willingness to push yourself. My docs have all said that that is why I survived and continue to do well.

Buongiorno Steve,

Fully understand, where you are at in your journey with this cancer. Hopefully, you are still hanging in there. My diagnosis was Sep 2022. Received radiation and chemo, followed by gastricesophageal resection and then immunotherapy. Past immunotherapy and basically at the same level physically as prediagnosis. The only difference has been dealing with the nutritional consequences of chemo mainly and with surgery secondarily. Now at age 82. Also lost weight, initially, from 160 down to 136. Now back up to roughly at 150. So oh yeah, that muscle mass decreases. That is the negative side. The bright side is the fat goes, too! Muscle came back. The fat stores didn’t. But as you are learning, too, due to the gastric size reduction protein intake needs to be increased. I did doctoral studies in nutritional biochemistry in the 1970s, but felt like a neophyte regarding nutrition after chemo and surgery. Have been working my way through it. Would be glad to give advice from my experience. Nutritionists and docs gave generic advice, that was virtually useless.