Esophagectomy: What is life like Afterwards?

Any advice on dealing with excessive phlegm post surgery?
My husband does sleep elevated already, and it typically just bothers him in the morning sometimes minimally at night

I use saline spray to clear my sinuses and throat. You can buy it at any pharmacy. I spray it in both nostrils and let it drain down my throat. I then cough up as much phlegm as possible.

6 chemo and 25 radiation, Christmas of 2024,surgery April of 25...small tumor stayed in esphogus, treatment, s took care of it but everything and everyone, said surgery, 65 years old,doing ok surgery is deff, life changing eating good no feeding tube,lost 20 lbs,non....I mean non stop stop GERD,acid reflux, sphinx valve gone its like non stop volcano down there,don't bend over very long...adenocarsonoma,elevated bed cost under $2000 is deff a nessisary, feel very fortunate, even tho its my private hell,after reading about so many on hear,love and prayers to everyone on hear....willing to answer any questions anyone may have.

@jimbon

@jimbon hello i hope this gets to you its my first time using the site. I'm so scared. my brother had chemo for 8 weeks, a 3 week rest and in a few days (on feb 3, 2026) he will have the Esophagectomy. it will be done in montreal. he's going to have chemo after too. he said, the tumors close to his stomach. it may seem odd but I havent asked what stage but i think must be 2-3 because of needing chemo before and after. i decided not to ask because I dont want to here 4. i was confused bybyour post... did you say surgery xmas 2024 and then a temor stayed, everyone said surgery but chemo and radiation treated it. I'm so sorry you are suffering. it was brave of you to have the surgery... but is this what will happen to my brother will he have his own private hell. are there days that you dont feel sick. bless you.

@rselicmeister hang in there. you are a wonderful person

@ajax2026 I was diagnosed nov of 2024 did chemo and radiation, immediately after and surgery April of 2025,its been 10 months post surgery a nd yes there are lots of good days...keep your head up im sending prayers your way.keep in touch.

@manuelo hello. may i ask how old you are. my brother will have the Esophagectomy feb 3, 2026. he's 69. i'm so scared. he also has had prostate cancer since 2012 but it was being managed. when he told me he had EC He said, he'll have chemo and then surgery to take the tumor out, then another round of chem. i didnt understand how complex it was to get an EC tumor out. i thought it was like breast cancer. i had no idea it was such a high risk surgery, that things were going to be rerouted and how significantly it can change your life. i'm glad i found this site. thank you for sharing you're doing well (and may you always 💞) it was a great comfort to read it

Good evening, my dad at the age of 73 was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in November 2025. He has done a chemo treatment called FLOT 4 rounds. And then surgery which will be removal of bottom part of esophagus and the stomach.
He is doing well and will to a PET scan soon. But he is not sure he wants to do the surgery, due to all the risk and he thinks quality of life will be bad. Any suggestions. He wasn’t offered radiation. It is stage 2, did not spread to other parts of body and did not go thru walls of stomach or esophagus.
Please advise thank you

The Ivor Lewis surgery is quite complex. Just like most of us I had radiation and chemo treatments prior to the surgery. Had mine done in Tampa/Moffitt with Dr. Fontaine and his team January 28th 2025. Clear margins after surgery. So it’s been a year since surgery and eating will be forever different. I lost 60 pounds, maintaining at 180lbs for now, finally some energy back, eating smaller meals but hard to get used to it because I’m a tall big guy that loved to eat. Great team at Moffitt 5 star accommodations. My digestive system still acts up with diarrhea controlled somewhat. Most times when eating I have a stomach ache most likely from over eating. Good luck.