Esophageal cancer treatment: Anyone have good experiences to share?

Pretty cool. How long after surgery were you back to eating normally? I mean regular foods like burgers and fries, steak and potatoes, fried chicken? I know it'll take a while before I return to the volume I was used to, I just want to know when I can expect to get back to the foods I love. I was 165 lbs. on my best day standing 6 ft. tall. But I ate like a horse. Now I'm down to 128 lbs and can't eat freaking cereal.😭 I hope it didn't take 4 years. I'm almost 65 and I can't imagine waiting 4 years to get back to normal.

Been there done that. Many of us EC patients will see some crazy extremes during our EC journeys. Our journeys will vary greatly due to our ages, other comorbidities, tumor type and size, ability to swallow along the way, initial stage at diagnosis, how we react to treatments, are we surgery eligible, etc.
I could barely swallow at diagnosis (T3N1M0), stage 3. I got a J tube the very next week, treatments still another 3 weeks from starting. I did not use my J tube correctly (because I didn't like it much)... so I became severely dehydrated and lost a bunch of weight as my CROSS protocol treatments got started. I vividly recall trying to pass a friggin' cucumber sized poop... it was going nowhere fast... the "baby was crowning"... I was in severe pain. I knew what would be done at the ER... but who knows how long that would be. So I used my right index finger and got to work breaking that sumbitch up! Hurt terribly... but I got the job done. Did this another time or two over the next two weeks. My doctors had given me a tool to use on my EC journey, this J tube, and I chose not to use it correctly. My bad. Once I started feeding myself 4 cartons a day (instead of 1 per day)... and adding some water to my feeds... all got better! Then my treatments opened up my esophagus pretty good and I started taking in stuff by mouth once again. Heaven. Over 4 years ago... pretty much back to normal now... but what a wild ride! Had that J tube for 8 months... 4 before surgery and 4 after surgery.

Well, I had a traumatic experience. I had to call the EMS to get me to the emergency room. It was worse than a nightmare. I felt like I had a brick stick in my anus. I was literally screaming for God to make it stop. Finally I was given morphine and it passed, not from the morphine. I don't even want to talk about it. But I'm on a regimen of stool softeners and laxatives, so it's better now. I would rather wear Depends than go through that again.

Well hello Lynn. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm certainly glad to hear that alternatives to JUST pills, shots radiation and chemo are an option and it works. Now, I understand that it may not be for everyone, but I knew it would work for some. Personally I loathe taking pills. And don't get me started on the mind altering drugs...ie, pain killers. I don't like feeling as though I'm not in complete control of my faculties, feeling high in other words. I waited too late to get into researching options, so I have to go the traditional route. But I'm happy to hear there's options. And I do have one alternative to conventional methodology, that's God. More like the first One I go to and rely on, then the doctors and their science. So, to sum it up in a nutshell, kudos to you, Lynn👍

Hey Bob. I can't help with that. I just wanted to give words of encouragement and prayers for your comfort. We're pulling for you!

Amen to that brother.

Stage 4 and hope to stop it from growing.Doctor said 1in20 get it to start to reduce in size.
Three months later it not only stopped but it was half the original size
Three later again it was half
Last scan and it was gone
Biopsy (20)of the esophagus were negative
Doctors than prescribed 23 radiation treatments with 5more chemo infusions
August is my next scan and hopefully with prayers and Great Doctors at UNC this will be positive for me and negative for canser
The call this a miracle and I agreed
JUST PRAY not with your mouth but with your heart

Hi Ernest,

This Wednesday at my 2nd oncologist appointment is when I learn just how uphill a battle I’m facing. Sunday( tomorrow))
I go for thoracic MRI my pain mgt doc ordered because my pain has been through the roof making her suspect coincidental pain coming from degen disk. Monday AM I’m having a port put in and Wednesday is oncologist to learn type, stage, lymph node, organ involvement and initial treatment path. Won’t be surprised if I receive first treatment same day as appointment. VERY alarmed at inability to get nutrition. Can’t manage more than couple teaspoons of HM soup like lentil, and while it’s never happened with soda, I’ll have times where even liquid won’t go down and I have to regurge it up. The esophageal obstruction seems to lock up periodically where even liquid won’t pass through. When it happens it’s most unsettling. Things do seem to be going downhill and I’ll be glad to actually begin treatment. I can discuss feeding tube or stent placement with my oncologist when I see him Wednesday.

Hey Relic. Hope you dont mind me calling you relic. I just shorten the names I see to address whomever. But yes, I am on my last chemo treatment and I'll finish radiation, the week after next. What I can tell you is that each case is different, but we have much in common as well. The good news is that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence like it was years ago. So many advancements have been made in the fight and cure for cancer. I was surprised to come to know how many people that I know are cancer survivors. Once I started telling people about my cancer it's as though people were hiding the fact from me. So keep your chin up, shoulders back and let's push right on through to victory. Praying for you brother.

Just back from 2nd endo doc got the additional samples he needs and in the findings he there is a substantial tumor in the mid esophagus mostly obstructing ( did dilation to 15 mm but noted no change). Tomorrow is PET scan which will reveal if it has breached the esophagus and metastasized to lymph nodes and neighboring organs Fingers and toes crossed.