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Excessive Mucus with Esophageal Cancer
Does anyone suffer from excessive mucus after eating or drinking. I was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer one year ago. I started off with chemo, which did nothing and was switched to Keytruda every 3 weeks which has worked wonders. I am still stage 4 though. I was told that what I have is treatable, but not curable. I guess I can live with that. I have this excessive amount of mucus when I eat or drink. Does anyone else have this, and if you do, how do you deal with it?
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Hello Kelly, I am so sorry that your husband is going thru this. I am now 2 years out. The mucus gets bad I remember non stop coughing and using 2 large tissue boxes a day. I now clean and suction a couple of times a day but I live more normal as I was before. But keeping him taking in calories is important and keeping him hydrated. I pushed while I had pain medication to swallow - get a home nurse if you can to stop in and check on him daily- keep checking his oxygen levels- he needs to walk around the house to get up and he may need nausea medication and dry mouth spray. Some people have delay radiation side effects- so if he’s done with radiation and 3 months - 4 months he’s not feeling to hot it’s normal but keep taking him in to his doctors and checking his oxygen.
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1 ReactionHe’s getting better with liquids but not enough to sustain him. He’s only getting about 50-60 calories in each day.. He’s pushing through. Only 5 more days of radiation!
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1 ReactionWelcome, @socalkelly. I’m sorry to hear how much discomfort your husband is experiencing, so much so that he needed to be hospitalized. This must be hard for you too.
I’m tagging fellow esophageal cancer members like @russparsons @mindyt @lori57216 @ricem3627 so they can share their tips and experiences.
Kelly, is the clear diet helping? Is he able to drink plenty of water?
My husband was diagnosed with stage 3 esophageal cancer in January. It’s a 3cm tumor very near the junction of the stomach. He’s 5 weeks into his 6 weeks of chemo/radiation treatment. Just this last week he’s had a HUGE amount of mucus production. Due to his discomfort and dehydration (was hospitalized for 2 days last week) he’s on a clear diet. Is this mucus normal during treatment? It’s driving him crazy!
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1 ReactionCongrats. That sounds like real progress.
Fish, potato and a vegetable tonight!
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1 ReactionYour surgery is still quite fresh. Congratulations on moving into solid foods already. What is your most recent new food that I've added to your repertoire?
A cancerous tumor in the esophagus was treated with radiation/chemotherapy and successfully removed by surgery in early November. Recovery is slow, but I'm gradually able to enjoy solid foods once again!
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5 ReactionsI had those symptoms for months prior to the official cancer diagnosis. Since changing my diet this symptom is now pretty well eliminated. It’s still comes back from one moment to another every other day but I am not into those heavy coughing fits that I had before
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1 ReactionHi @ricem3627, welcome. Did you have esophageal cancer? How are you doing post treatments?
@russparsons, how are you doing? Have you found a solution to the excessive mucus?