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Living life after treatment and surgery for Esophageal Cancer.
Esophageal Cancer | Last Active: Jun 10 7:19am | Replies (84)Comment receiving replies
Hi. Before cancer I was healthy, active, tom boy, muscular for a woman and proud of it. Losing all this weight and not being active is really difficult for me. My surgeon didn't really have an answer for me as to why I couldn't gain weight. I researched it and found an article in a British paper about my issue. Turns out there are lots of cancer patients suffering my problem. It seems that stomachs which have been stretched due to the esophagus being removed is the reason (they think). I will just have to read for updates and hope there is a cure.
Replies to "Hi. Before cancer I was healthy, active, tom boy, muscular for a woman and proud of..."
I'm a two year Esophageal Cancer survivor. In the time since surgery I have learned much about how and what I can eat to maintain weight. What I have been able to do is find foods that I can eat and eat them in small portions much more frequently than typical meals. I eat something every couple hours. I try to find things that are higher in calories without too much sugar in them. My diet is kind of boring but I am maintaining weight so that is good. Everyone's body is different so you will have to find what works for you.
Hi,
Most of these replies have been from people 2 and 3 years out. I wanted to give some hope to those of you so soon after treatment. My husband is almost 11 years cancer free now! He had stage 3, had 5 weeks radiation 5 days a week, once a week chemo for 6 weeks and then Ivor Lewis surgery to remove his esophagus. He ended up with a nasal feeding tube before he finished radiation because he couldn't swallow anything. Then the gastro feeding tube for 6 weeks post surgery. He had some room to lose some weight which was good because he did lose 40 to 50 pounds from start of treatment to about 2 years out. More than he needed to lose! He had a lot trouble those first few years with stomach aches and dumping. He seemed to not be able to eat any sugar or fatty foods. To offer some encouragement, over the years his system must have adjusted and his stomach stretched because he can eat almost normally again. He still has to be careful to not eat too much at one meal, but that is good for all of us as we age! He gained weight, but not to his previous weight, which also is good. He is a healthy weight and sometimes even feels like he should drop a few pounds.
On the down side, he is struggling with aspiration in recent years which is affecting his lungs, and we are in the process of exploring this with Mayo Pulmonology and GI departments right now. Appointment with GI in June and hoping for some resolution.
My advice would be to just stick with what works for you concentrating on healthy calorie rich foods. Avocados and olive oil! Good luck.
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@doglover888, would you say that your appetite has been significantly less ever since your operation? Or do you have a good appetite but not the ability to digest enough food during the course of a day?
Or do you eat plenty to maintain or gain weight, yet you lose weight nonetheless?
Whichever might be the case, I know it’s been hard. Thank you for sharing your experience with us.