Esophagectomy: What is life like Afterwards?

Posted by bakerwd4 @bakerwd4, Jul 28, 2024

Hello, my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in March. His tumor is very small and isolated, thankfully! He has been a champ and has finished chemo and radiation. His esophagectomy is scheduled in a couple of weeks. He and the rest of my family are starting to feel the fear and reality of this procedure. My dad's not a big talker but I know he is scared. I would love to connect with others to learn about what life has been like after this surgery so I can help support my dad. I am also hoping to get him involved with some support groups with others who have experienced the surgery. It would be so beneficial for him to connect with others who have been through what he is going through. Any insight on post-surgery recovery and life would be very appreciated!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Esophageal Cancer Support Group.

gdj | @gdj | Jul 29, 2024

I’m one year out from surgery, doing well. Hasn’t been easy, but not awful either.

He will handle it well, I bet.

I’m happy to talk if you want to do that. I try to help where I can.

aheid | @aheid | Jul 29, 2024

Everyone is different. My husband had an esophagectomy in June 2023—also small and isolated cancer—and he didn't need chemo or radiation. In the 14-months since surgery he has suffered non-stop with nausea and/or vomiting. He was on a j-tube for an entire year but in that time he was unable to tolerate any of the enteral formulas that we tried. So the j-tube was removed and he is now on TPN (IV nutrition). He's had pneumonia four times and is currently hospitalized again with pneumonia. Food no longer tastes the same to him and he's lost a total of about 85 lbs. He's always weak and tired and his quality of life sucks.

On the other hand, he speaks with another man who had the same surgery a few months before hubby and that guy is 100% back to normal. So, as I said, everyone is different. Hopefully your dad will have an easy time of it but it's likely that he'll at least have some issues.