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Chemo after an esophagectomy for liver metastasis: What's it like?
My husband had an esophagectomy on December 18, 2025,
He had many complications and was in the hospital for 6 months.
He now has metastasis to the liver. They are going to give him chemotherapy, which he did not have before the surgery.
Can someone tell me if they had chemo, and how it made them feel?
Also, how long does it take?
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Assume his surgery was in 2024. Quite unusual to have no neoadjuvant chemo treatments before esophagectomy... unless he was a stage 1. So my first question... what did his post-op pathology show? Many positive lymph nodes? Because for him to now show liver mets so soon after esophagectomy is unusual... but only goes to show that initial diagnosis is but a guess... not everything can be seen by scans and EUS.
But systemic chemo is a must now, along with immunotherapy if applicable. Yes... it will usually provide typical sude eggects like nausea, some hair loss, cold sensitivity, loss of taste buds, some neuropathy, etc. If doing Folfox or FLOT, he'll be re-scanned after 4 or so infusions to see how effective his treatments are. Having ctDNA bloodwork analyzed is another way to monitor treatment effectiveness. Hang tough.
Gary
@mrgvw
Yes, it was 2024, my typo. He did not have chemo prior because MSK felt it was a very small tumor and they could get it all with surgery. The surgeon at that point came into the room and stated he got it all. His issues after surgery were anastomotic leak and a hole in his stomach conduit. It eventually caused a fistula into his right lung. Believe me, if it could go wrong, it went wrong for my husband. He was being prepared for a Colonic Interposition last week to be performed on November 5. While being worked up, the CAT SCAN and PET scan showed activity in his liver. He is going for a biopsy today with the hopes that they can find a chemo that would be effective. He has lost 55 lbs. and has not eaten in 9 months.
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2 Reactions@bob5246, how is your husband doing? What did you learn about next steps?
Hi, well, the next step is going to be some type of Chemo. We are seeing the oncologist this Friday. I fear that he has been through so much already, that he won't be able to handle the treatment and the side effects.
He hasn't eaten in months, but the surgeon is allowing him to start soft foods. I'm very apprehensive how that is going to work out. Fingers crossed that he will have some good luck for a change.
Thank you so much for asking.
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