I suppose I would tell you that at 88, there's not much that can be done for your mom. But that's not true... because I don't yet know what stage she is, what type of EC she has, the location of her solid esophageal tumor, mom's other comorbidities... and most importantly... what kind of shape mom is in. But here's my take...

In general, most of us EC patients (like me) are usually diagnosed once we become symptomatic (difficulty swallowing typically). This usually means we are stage 3 or 4, typically with adenocarcinoma down towards the GEJunction. I could be wrong, but if this is true, it means she must begin chemotherapy and/or radiation, and/or immunotherapy, very soon (weeks). Will mom be able to handle these treatments... possibly having a port installed... and even a feeding tube (j tube or g tube)? Maybe. Her doctors will be advising. But clearly, this cancer will progress... it won't stop on its own. It will win.

If treatments were to happen, and she had a very nice response... this might gain her another 6 months to two years even. And that would be just fine... before needing hospice care. Because the next step after a great response to first-line treatments is the esophagectomy... which is long and tough surgery... not meant for an 88 year old. I would strongly advise against this... should it even become a possibility. But only her thoracic surgeon, and anesthesiologist, would weigh in on this... depending on what shape she's in at age 88.

But even then, I could be wrong. I talked to one surgeon who did an esophagectomy on a 90 year-old. I did not find out more details. And we have two patients on our Zoom calls who recently had esophagectomies... one is 83, and one is 81. The biggest problem with this brutal surgery is not just the surgery... and recovery from your surgical wounds. The problem is the long road back to proper digestion. I was 61 when I went thru it all... damn tough. A crazy ride... a bit of misery to go thru, both physically and mentally. At 66, I'm pretty much back to normal... I actually eat, poop, and sleep, pretty much normally these days. I admit I am shocked at where I'm at. At 6 months post-op... I was not doing well... a bit depressed.

Ok... let's find out where mom is, and go from there. I'll come privately as well.

Gary,
Southern California