1. < Esophageal Cancer

Chemo for esophagus cancer: Any advice on things I should or not do?

Posted by fracturedd @fracturedd, Sep 5, 2021

I was recently diagnosed with Adenocarcinoma of the esophagus with her2 “positive”. I’ve been on one chemo pill and one infusion. The pills gave me ulcers in my colon along with every other side effect and I ended up in the ICU for 2 nights- 7 night hospital stay. Since then they haven’t started me on the chemo pills again (they said I need a break to heal) so I’m only on the infusion. My follow up pet scan is wed and I’m scared that only being on the one infusion just wasn’t enough. I’m trying to stay positive. Anyone have any advice as far as extra supplements or things I should or shouldn’t do. As of now I’m walking, take curcumin, vit d, acupuncture, cbd oil, that’s really it. Any positive info would be appreciated.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Sep 18, 2022
In reply to @socalkelly "Actually we saw his oncologist Friday. He is recommending immunotherapy versus chemo/radiation. His body wouldn’t tolerate..." + (show)
@socalkelly

Actually we saw his oncologist Friday. He is recommending immunotherapy versus chemo/radiation. His body wouldn’t tolerate another round of Chemo/radiation. He’ll start this in October, giving him another month to recover from surgery. Which is slow…

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How's recovery going, Kelly?

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socalkelly | @socalkelly | Aug 27, 2022

Actually we saw his oncologist Friday. He is recommending immunotherapy versus chemo/radiation. His body wouldn’t tolerate another round of Chemo/radiation. He’ll start this in October, giving him another month to recover from surgery. Which is slow…

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3 replies
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Aug 27, 2022
In reply to @socalkelly "Aww you’re sweet for checking on us. He went through the surgery just fine. They had..." + (show)
@socalkelly

Aww you’re sweet for checking on us. He went through the surgery just fine. They had to remove some stomach, there was cancer there too. They ended up needing to take almost all of the esophagus, the cancer has spread. So back to chemo and radiation…. Sigh,

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When does he start the next treatment phase? Chemo or radiation first?

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survivorsuz | @survivorsuz | Aug 1, 2022
In reply to @socalkelly "Aww you’re sweet for checking on us. He went through the surgery just fine. They had..." + (show)
@socalkelly

Aww you’re sweet for checking on us. He went through the surgery just fine. They had to remove some stomach, there was cancer there too. They ended up needing to take almost all of the esophagus, the cancer has spread. So back to chemo and radiation…. Sigh,

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Hopefully he'll be a candidate for Proton treatment. I had a recurrence a year following my esophagectomy and then had 5 weeks of Proton with a 'sprinkle' of chemo in 2020 at Mayo Rochester. Cancer free for two years now!
Good luck.

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socalkelly | @socalkelly | Jul 30, 2022

Aww you’re sweet for checking on us. He went through the surgery just fine. They had to remove some stomach, there was cancer there too. They ended up needing to take almost all of the esophagus, the cancer has spread. So back to chemo and radiation…. Sigh,

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2 replies
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Jul 30, 2022
In reply to @socalkelly "My husband has stage 3 esophageal cancer in the lower 3rd of his esophagus. He did..." + (show)
@socalkelly

My husband has stage 3 esophageal cancer in the lower 3rd of his esophagus. He did 30 rounds of radiation and 6 of chemo. He had terrible nausea and vomiting. He found Zofran and compazine helped a bit. Be sure to watch his food/liquid intake. My husband was hospitalized twice with dehydration and malnutrition. He eventually got a feeding tube which has helped A LOT! Good luck with his treatment.
My husband will be having an esophagectomy on 7/29/22. 🙏🏻

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Hi @socalkelly, just checking. I see your husband had an esophagectomy only yesterday. How is he doing? How are you doing?

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Amanda Burnett | @amandaa | Jul 17, 2022
In reply to @slisa729 "My husband was diagnosed on vacation with esophagus cancer. After returning home, we were told it..." + (show)
@slisa729

My husband was diagnosed on vacation with esophagus cancer. After returning home, we were told it is stage 4, it has spread to his liver and on a rib. He has done 10 sessions of radation on the lower esophagus near stomach, and started chemo. He has done 4 round out of 12. Was going well but he us fine all thew chemo but is getting stomach pains and severe nausea five days after chemo that isn't subsiding, any one else experienced this and any info

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Hi @slisa729 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am so sorry to hear about your husband, and to find out on vacation...geeze!
You'll see that I moved your post to this existing discussion:
- Chemo for esophagus cancer
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/esophagus-cancer/
I did this so you can connect with others like @socalkelly, @rexsan20, and @lori57216

Have they checked him for ulcers as a result of the chemo and radiation?

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socalkelly | @socalkelly | Jul 15, 2022
In reply to @slisa729 "My husband was diagnosed on vacation with esophagus cancer. After returning home, we were told it..." + (show)
@slisa729

My husband was diagnosed on vacation with esophagus cancer. After returning home, we were told it is stage 4, it has spread to his liver and on a rib. He has done 10 sessions of radation on the lower esophagus near stomach, and started chemo. He has done 4 round out of 12. Was going well but he us fine all thew chemo but is getting stomach pains and severe nausea five days after chemo that isn't subsiding, any one else experienced this and any info

Jump to this post

My husband has stage 3 esophageal cancer in the lower 3rd of his esophagus. He did 30 rounds of radiation and 6 of chemo. He had terrible nausea and vomiting. He found Zofran and compazine helped a bit. Be sure to watch his food/liquid intake. My husband was hospitalized twice with dehydration and malnutrition. He eventually got a feeding tube which has helped A LOT! Good luck with his treatment.
My husband will be having an esophagectomy on 7/29/22. 🙏🏻

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1 reply
slisa729 | @slisa729 | Jul 14, 2022

My husband was diagnosed on vacation with esophagus cancer. After returning home, we were told it is stage 4, it has spread to his liver and on a rib. He has done 10 sessions of radation on the lower esophagus near stomach, and started chemo. He has done 4 round out of 12. Was going well but he us fine all thew chemo but is getting stomach pains and severe nausea five days after chemo that isn't subsiding, any one else experienced this and any info

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2 replies
rexsan20 | @rexsan20 | Nov 4, 2021
In reply to @lori57216 "Bananas: Provide a soothing effect by coating the esophageal lining Melons: High in magnesium, a mineral..." + (show)
@lori57216

Bananas: Provide a soothing effect by coating the esophageal lining
Melons: High in magnesium, a mineral often used in medications for high stomach acid
Oatmeal: The best thing for digestive health is fiber
Vegetables
Ginger
Noncitrus fruits
Lean meats and egg whites.

Foods to avoid:
High fat foods
Tomatoes and citrus fruits
Chocolates
Garlic, onion and spicy foods
Caffeine and mint
Alcoholic beverages

Experiment with milk in different amounts. I find when I consume ice cream ( especially soft serve ) or milk over 4 oz. it is bothersome. I eat alot of eggs & cheese, legumes as they are excellent sources of protein.
I wish you luck in your endeavors.

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Awesome Thank you

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