Has anyone experienced narrowing of the esophagus due to radiation ?

@gareee314 I'm 2 months done radiation to neck and i get burning in the mouth and throat and blisters they said it will get better apparently not if you are still getting this

@ban1952 If your asking about how long the radiation fibrosis progresses I suppose it's different in every person depending on the dose of radiation. How serious and debilitating also depends on factors such as over all health, longevity, etc. Once again referring to my cancer Dr. "Radiation, the gift that keeps on giving". It's pretty much never ending. The radiation is gone but the effects continue. The last time I saw the Dr. for a survivorship appointment he said had they known then what they know now I wouldn't have been given as many treatments.

@ban1952 Everyone is different. You might get better sooner.

@omaest The thing that puzzles me is my surgeon had a pathologist team with him during surgery to make sure the took out all the disease. That said, why did I have to get 30 treatments of radiation plus 3 rounds of chemo? That's the stuff that stays with you the rest of your life.

Another word from my Dr. "Overkill" - What baffles me is if my doctor is now saying it was overkill why is the practice of such heavy treatments still continuing?

@cskippy did they tell you something wasn’t working mechanically that pushed the liquid/food down? He is very discouraged but did get his appt moved up from February 2027 to August this year.

@omaest
Excellent question.
I struggled with this as well because after decades of trials
and I read through a lot of them, all the evidence points to a cancer HPV P16+ that responds well to treatment.
Current and former trials show about 1/2 of the
standard of care is often all it takes . Half ! So 2-3 chemos and 15-20 radiation treatments often kills it.
Call me cynical but I personally think it has to do with the loss of money that some cancer centers continue to push for maximum treatments.
I was pushed to do 7 chemos and 35 radiation but bailed out of treatments due to swallowing difficulty after 3 chemos and 24 radiation .
Then tested negative for cancer with the blood test NavDX.

It brings to mind the phrase "Question authority."

@woodsy1 In my case it was even worse because I was diagnosed with stage 4 tonsil cancer in Germany and spent a week in the hospital there with a heavy dose of chemo - 5 days of constant IV - switching from saline to drug throughout that time. I came back to the state to finish treatment because my green card had expired, I could have asked for an extension due to illness but the treatment in Germany would have included surgery after 2 or 3 more sessions of that heavy dose of chemo. In the states it would "only" be radiation and chemo and be over in 35 days. There was good communication between the doctors in Germany and those here in the States. But what I found out AFTER all the radiation was the tumor had shown a lot of shrinkage just from the treatment in Germany. So I'm sure I didn't need what I got! But, I am here 20 years later and for the most part healthy! Take care.