A New Direction: Transthoracic esophagectomy (Ivor Lewis)

Hi Colleen, navigating towards a body that has not had the chemo, radiation and surgery is a challenge,,,but I’m finding that eating is starting to get better ( ever aware that to be mindful of how fast consumption can affect the quality of the eating experience,,,I’ve slowed down and chew my intake to facilitate passage in the digestive organs..). I stay active on our small acereage tending the landscape and have kept up with my passion of growing Garlic 🧄
That said ,,, I am very aware that I’m not the GUY i was before all the medical world descended on me.
I’m feeling very fortunate at this 6 month period after surgery to be able to do most things…just not with the gusto of pre- medical intervention.
Above all, having friends and family as supportive factors really help me to feel positive of most things.
You bet, things could be better—-but they could also be worse. Right now, I’m about to turn 80, eating and trying to gain back some of the weight I’ve lost.
Regards, from my farm in B.C.

Hello, was wondering how much weight you lost after the operation ? My husband had Ivor Lewis surgery and his weight loss has been huge…he was 74 kgs and slim before but now, 10 months after the operation his weight is 60.5 kgs ! He can’t gain weight no matter what we try. Anyone else been in this situation ? Any help would be appreciated, thanks …

I too have had a huge weight loss...people around me who have looked at me/perspective for years are more worried. I can't seem to gain, but weight is stable. Focus on how he feels....is he physically weak? It just recently dawned on me that this is going to take more than 6 months..it may take 1-3 years to get back where/who I was. I am not who I was pre surgery in re: what foods, how many etc and it breaks my heart. This is the brain-training we've done and now have to rewire our thoughts. I have spent a lifetime of can't have this, can't have that, shouldn't etc...it's all very different now. Just be sure to eat proteins and get lots of calories...throw the old rules out the window for now...and do muscle building/resistance exercise.

Thankyou for the advice….he is also lactose intolerant so finding it hard to add calories to everything…he has a bottle of fortisip daily which contains 300 calories but also 13 gms of sugar which has been causing dumping, which certainly doesn’t help with weight loss ! I add protein, cheese he can tolerate and butter does help but is still slowly loosing…says he doesn’t feel physically weak so that’s good…thankyou so much for your answer x