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Excessive Mucus with Esophageal Cancer

Posted by russparsons @russparsons, Oct 26, 2021

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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staphil | @staphil | Mar 6, 2023

Oh, I totally understand what you’re saying. My husband is stage four adenocarcinoma. He was first diagnosed with Barrett’s syndrome, and it just seemed to get worse and worse, and then he just couldn’t eat or swallow but the mucus is always there. Every bite or drink he swallowed brought up mucus. He is now on his third stent, which is to help him be able to swallow, and it has also helped with the mucus, however each time there’s an issue with the stent, relocates or falls down into the stomach, always right back at the mucus stage again. And when he had his last stent put in, we also had a feeding tube put in that goes into the stomach and into the intestine so that even when he doesn’t feel like eating due to the chemo regimen, he is still getting nutrition. The mucus part is really tough. It robbed him of his ability of enjoying food and having friends or family around during meal times. I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this. If you do find a solution I’d love to know about it.

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irvine | @irvine | Feb 16, 2023
In reply to @mcmuck29 "Thank you for mentioning googling foods that cause increased mucus production and foods that do not...." + (show)
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Thank you for mentioning googling foods that cause increased mucus production and foods that do not. My husband had Stage 3 Esophageal cancer treatment and surgery beginning in November with surgery in early March. He had heavy mucus initially and it seems to slowly be getting better ... however, just when we think it's going away it rears its ugly head. I am going to Google for this information. Thank you.

Any suggestions are so helpful!

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Thanks, I will google for foods, too, to do with mucus forming.

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johnstawicki | @johnstawicki | Feb 15, 2023

I had surgery September 2022 , and have had the same thing , with me it comes and goes , I make sure to spit out anything that comes up rinse with mouth wash

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irvine | @irvine | Feb 14, 2023
In reply to @henrytimmins "I had those symptoms for months prior to the official cancer diagnosis. Since changing my diet..." + (show)
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I 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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How did you change your diet?

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wretired2000 | @wretired2000 | Sep 27, 2022
In reply to @mindyt "I am almost 1 1/2 years from treatment - I like you especially at the beginning..." + (show)
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I am almost 1 1/2 years from treatment - I like you especially at the beginning had lots of mucus, for me it was exhausting coughing non stop from the mucus - I was able to to HBO therapy at 6 months cancer clear, after a few treatments I was healing - mucus was under control taste buds came back it was amazing. So now I get increased mucus after I eat and drink also but you can google foods that cause increased mucus production and foods that do not - this is really helping me and this is where I am - one more thing I’m learning - deep breathing it can clear - help with Speach - everything. I hope this helps ….

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Can you tell me how many HBo treatments you had and how long you were in the capsule. My husband has had 35 treatments. Each one lasts 2 hours but the mucus is still coming constantly.

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mindyt | @mindyt | Jul 11, 2022

Another thing I learned for help with swallowing- while eating drink a cold soda just when you’re having trouble - no straw…

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mcmuck29 | @mcmuck29 | Jul 11, 2022
In reply to @mindyt "I am almost 1 1/2 years from treatment - I like you especially at the beginning..." + (show)
Profile picture for mindyt @mindyt

I am almost 1 1/2 years from treatment - I like you especially at the beginning had lots of mucus, for me it was exhausting coughing non stop from the mucus - I was able to to HBO therapy at 6 months cancer clear, after a few treatments I was healing - mucus was under control taste buds came back it was amazing. So now I get increased mucus after I eat and drink also but you can google foods that cause increased mucus production and foods that do not - this is really helping me and this is where I am - one more thing I’m learning - deep breathing it can clear - help with Speach - everything. I hope this helps ….

Jump to this post

Thank you for mentioning googling foods that cause increased mucus production and foods that do not. My husband had Stage 3 Esophageal cancer treatment and surgery beginning in November with surgery in early March. He had heavy mucus initially and it seems to slowly be getting better ... however, just when we think it's going away it rears its ugly head. I am going to Google for this information. Thank you.

Any suggestions are so helpful!

REPLY
1 reply
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mcmuck29 | @mcmuck29 | Jul 11, 2022

We keep experimenting but its really challenging. I would welcome any ideas. Spaghetti casserole and Chinese (without the crisp noodles) are the best for him so far. Scrambled eggs, fish, mashed potatoes, cheerios, oatmeal and softer fruits also work (watermelon, cantelope) also work. cheerios, oatmeal, these are just a few things that come to mind. Bread hasn't worked well for him.

He still does cough up phlegm but much less than before. Unfortunately, he also developed blood clots which traveled to his lungs so we are working to correct that now, too.

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wretired2000 | @wretired2000 | Jun 15, 2022
In reply to @mindyt "I am almost 1 1/2 years from treatment - I like you especially at the beginning..." + (show)
Profile picture for mindyt @mindyt

I am almost 1 1/2 years from treatment - I like you especially at the beginning had lots of mucus, for me it was exhausting coughing non stop from the mucus - I was able to to HBO therapy at 6 months cancer clear, after a few treatments I was healing - mucus was under control taste buds came back it was amazing. So now I get increased mucus after I eat and drink also but you can google foods that cause increased mucus production and foods that do not - this is really helping me and this is where I am - one more thing I’m learning - deep breathing it can clear - help with Speach - everything. I hope this helps ….

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I feel better after reading your message. My husband had a sarcoma of the tongue and throat and is cancer free now. But the mucus is non stop. He is on a feeding tube We are hoping that he will be a candidate for the HBO treatment.

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Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | May 13, 2022
In reply to @mcmuck29 "Yes, my husband does as well. He is 2 months out after surgery and is still..." + (show)
Profile picture for mcmuck29 @mcmuck29

Yes, my husband does as well. He is 2 months out after surgery and is still coughing up lots of clear flem, primarily after eating pills or foot but sometimes just starts coughing out of the blue and coughs up a large amount of clear flem. We are hopeful this will eventually cease. If anyone has any suggestions, we'd welcome them.

Also, we are still trying to find good foods to eat ... we experiment with all sorts of things. Breakfast is the best meal by far and it progressively gets harder to eat as the day goes on. We also have dumping syndrome occasionally even though we are working hard to limit sugar intake. If any of you would share foods that have worked for you we'd love to give them a try.

Thinking of you all as we work through these things together.

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@mcmuck29, how are things going? Have you and your husband discovered more foods that work as the weeks go by?

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