Esophageal cancer treatment: Anyone have good experiences to share?

Posted by earnest @earnest, May 28 9:28am

Hello troops. Does anyone have any good news about their treatments? All I've been reading are horror stories. Not very encouraging at all. I'm on my second week of radiation and chemo, and the first chemo didn't go well. Not meaning to add to the horror stories, but it made my stomach ache really bad. They stopped and gave me steroids, I think. Now I'm hearing these stories about leaking chemo causing pain, makes me apprehensive. So if anyone has had a GOOD experience, PLEASE share it!

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Don Higgins, Volunteer Mentor | @dsh33782 | 15 hours ago

In reply to @vickiinalaska "I am a long term survivor of ec. I was diagnosed in April 2012 and finished..." + (show)

Vicki
Great to hear from long term EC survivor. I had chemo and radiation several years ago for EC and am still alive and kicking. At 79 I hope I still have another 10-15 years to enjoy with my wife Charlotte.
Don

vickiinalaska | @vickiinalaska | 16 hours ago

I am a long term survivor of ec. I was diagnosed in April 2012 and finished treatment in October 2012. That treatment is hard is an understatement. But I’ve had an extra 12 years of life with my husband and family, grandkids, travel, a full life, and still going strong! Almost the first advice I got from my doctor was to stay away from online support groups.

bea4me | @bea4me | Oct 26 6:16pm

I had chemo & radiation prior to my Stage 4 esophagectomy surgery. No problems at all with chemo - no hair loss etc. Radiation really burned my throat and doctor took me off of it for 2 weeks. When it healed up we finished the course.

earnest | @earnest | Sep 12 7:17am

In reply to @rselicmeister "May God bring you safely through your surgery, and be on your way to becoming completely..." + (show)

Thank you!

gdj | @gdj | Sep 11 1:32pm

You’ve got this!

relicmeister | @rselicmeister | Sep 10 9:41pm

May God bring you safely through your surgery, and be on your way to becoming completely healed.

earnest | @earnest | Sep 10 9:26pm

In reply to @rselicmeister "Went Wednesday for my 6th round of chemo, and also my immunotherapy ( usually not same..." + (show)

Praying for you. I'm heading for surgery in a couple of days. Keep me in your prayers. If you're a God fearing person.

relicmeister | @rselicmeister | Sep 7 3:47pm

Went Wednesday for my 6th round of chemo, and also my immunotherapy ( usually not same day, but occasionally lines up). Drew blood as per usual and then a brief consult with the physicians assistant. The oncologist said they have to postpone treatment until next week due to my platelets being very low ( low 40’s) Apparently I have chemo induced thrombocytopenia (CIT) they will treat me with an injectable to counter and hopefully, my platelets will recover enough to not have to postpone further. I admit this concerns me somewhat. I searched around for info on CIT and found that with the added treatment and sometimes altering the treatment schedule chemo can (usually) resume. I can only have faith that this will be the case for me. The persistent back pain continues to concern me, but my increasing ability to eat is very encouraging.