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Chemo for esophagus cancer: Any advice on things I should or not do?
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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I’m guessing you had surgery after radiation ?
Any treatment after surgery ?
His oncologist is recommending Opdivo. He starts in October.
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2 ReactionsIs their a reason they propose immuno ? what was his stage (metastatic ?)
Sorry I didn’t answer thoroughly. They didn’t get clear margins during surgery. There’s microscopic cancer cells high up in his esophagus. So Opdivo immunotherapy is recommended for 1 year.
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1 ReactionOh ok I understand.
They saw the microscopic cell during CT ? (Scan).
The decision to take immuno is difficult because of the side effets possible (1/5).
We have to give an answer by Monday.
No it was not visible in CT scan. When removing cancerous tumors, a pathologist is there to ensure that enough tissue is removed to get “clear margins” meaning cancer cells are not visible in remaining tissue. They took as much esophagus as they could from my husband but couldn’t get clear margins. He wouldn’t be able to tolerate chemo/radiation again, so immunotherapy is the recommended treatment. This treatment is MUCH LESS impactful than chemo/radiation.
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1 ReactionThank you so much for your answers it helps a lot !
If my mother decide to get the same immuno I’ll keep you updated on her journey !
Thank you again
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1 ReactionYou’re welcome! Your mom and my husband will go through it together!
Hello everyone
I went in to get esophagus expanded last Monday so I could eat food normally again as it has gotten increasingly difficult in the last few weeks. But the endoscopy found cancerous mass blocking it. Now I'm scheduled to get feeding tube and port on Tuesday to start chemo to shrink the tumor and hopefully avoid major surgery to cut out a section of esophagus. I have pending meetings with both chemo and radiation specialists asap at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Florida.
It's all new to Charlotte and I, and totally unexpected as I've only had skin cancers in the past and I'm now 77.
Any and all feedback welcome
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1 ReactionDon;
Sending good thoughts and wishing you a speedy recovery. My husband had the same issue back in January 2022. He’s 58 and went through chemo/radiation and did have an esophagectomy at the end of July. He’s still recovering. Good you’re getting a feeding tube now. It will help you tremendously during chemo/radiation.
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