@lionsfan I finished chemoradiation at MD Anderson on 5/15/25. My tumor was confined and my regional nodes clear and I was 85, so I forewent the surgery. By fall, I was NED in the esophageal region, but I had a very small nodule, not biopsy-able, in my upper left lung lobe. It's not skip node, since there's no node where it is. So, another round of radiation, SBRT this time, with TrueBeam. For those unfamiliar, it's a concentrated, scary high radiation beam focused on the little nodule (1/2"). Five treatments, lasting about 30 minutes, but with only a 2 minute blast of radiation. So, another round of fatigue. A lot of oncologists sometimes don't think cross-discipline enough. My urologist picked up on the fact that all the treatments had knocked the stuffing out of my testosterone level and started supplementing immediately and with immediate results with fatigue level. (Same thing may be true for females also, just not as high levels.) Just something to check out. Without testosterone, you will have fatigue, greater in direct proportion to your level.

What I really started to write about was the stricture, which I've written about before. I don't understand the docs not having figured it out. In my case, my tumor, although confined, was advanced and had closed off my throat to the point that they couldn't even get a guide wire for a camera down. I'd traded tumor for scar tissue. I've now had four dilations and can eat normally. The painful spasms have gone away. Some people have to have many. It's minor, as a surgical procedure goes, and is done under general but outpatient. I understand some docs do it in office and some people actually DIY. (This would have to be with preceding surgery, I think. Mine is 1/3 the way down, further than I think I could reach with a enlarging tube.) I'm just throwing in food for thought. Keep looking until you find a knowledgeable doctor...