Hello ddunavin,

I was diagnosed Dec of 2018 with esophageal cancer. Staged @ 2 but surgeon said stage 3 since one lymph node was involved. I had 5 rounds of chemo and 25 rounds of radiation. I had a difficult time swallowing initially but after a few rounds of radiation, it became easier to swallow. I had the Iver Lewis surgery April 2019, and a feeding tube was installed as well. On the 2nd day after surgery, I was taken to respiratory therapy to help rid my lungs of fluid since I was in surgery for 7 hours. I walked several times a day with all of my tubes, gradually walking farther each day. The day before I was released from the hospital, we started the feeding tube. Without it I would have lost too much weight as it was not possible to eat enough to give me the calories I needed. I had the feeding tube for over a month as I slowly started to eat following the dietary guidelines from Mayo.
Don't fear the feeding tube-it'll sustain you as you heal from surgery with your new anatomy.
Take each day at a time, don't worry about tomorrow, and trust your care team. Best wishes for good news. Take care!