Newly Diagnosed with Esophageal SCC – What to Expect Next?

Posted by wicenhour @wicenhour, 6 days ago

Hi everyone,
I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the lower esophagus on October 10, 2025. My CT scan showed no other growths outside of a single volcano-shaped spot on my esophagus. I had my PET scan yesterday (October 27) and haven’t met with the oncologist yet (appointment is 10/29/25).

The surgical oncologist is recommending radiation five days a week and chemotherapy once a week for at least six weeks. He set up to have a port and GI feeding tube placed on 10/30/25. I’m trying to get a sense of what comes next and what to expect during treatment and recovery.

Any advice, insight, or personal experience would be really appreciated.

Thank you.

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mk52dk51 | @mk52dk51 | 17 minutes ago

Good for him. Sounds like hes made terrific progress so far. Keep it up!

kmordan | @kmordan | 1 day ago

My husband is 68 years old and was diagnosed last February 2025. He joined a clinical trial for FOLFOX/FLOT add Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota

this consisted of chemotherapy, a rest Period, Radiation, rest period, and then he had surgery September 12 of 2025

Adjusting to eating smaller meals, more often throughout the day, sleeping, slightly elevated, and the other lifestyle changes that go along with it.

Fortunately, he did not need a feeding tube and he is maintaining his weight currently

Best of luck on your journey!

wicenhour | @wicenhour | 4 days ago

Thanks for the advice. Going in the morning to have my port and feeding tube installed. The PET shows that is it is one spot in my esophagus and calling it stage 2 SCC.

deemold | @deemold | 5 days ago

Hi there- I had a very similar situation. I am 51yr old, and was dx with Stage 3 SCC on 7/30/25 after an EGD where we thought that they were just going in to expand things a bit. I did weekly radiation for 6 weeks and weekly chemo. I just had my repeat PET and things look excellent- having endoscopy on 11/3/25.
I am a runner/ CrossFitter - and was able to exercise every day of treatment and only had to miss work on chemo days. Overall - i tolerated the treatment very well. It was kind of like I was prepared for a hurricane and only ended up with a thunderstorm through the chemo radiation.
Keep doing whatever makes you feel like you and try not to get too caught up on the “what if’s”- just deal with the “what next”.
Good Luck!!

mk52dk51 | @mk52dk51 | 5 days ago

My husband had a very small proximal tumor and a larger one on the distal end. He had 4 rounds of chemo, then his oncologist and radiologist moved to 28 days of radiation with weekly rounds of chemo. He was lethargic, felt like crap and finally finished. He was able to eat though he had no appetite and everything tasted bad. We made lots of smoothies cause he could not tolerate boost etc. The scans showed it worked. But the scans dont show if the cancer penetrated the wall of the esophagus. In my opinion, the radiation and chemo were bad but doable. Ive learned that every patient with this diagnosis is unique. He was very fit and active which helped. Hes had post surgery complications but the J-tube put in during surgery is saving his life for now. Its amazing what you can get used to so you can live.
This is a great group of people who genuinely care about all the members. Goid luck...you can do this.

goldenshadow | @goldenshadow | 5 days ago

Hi, Scott here I went through flot program. So mine was chemo treatments only no radiation. I did have a j tube placed because I couldn’t eat because my tumor was blocking my passage in my esophagus. Even trying to swallow liquids was hard. I had lost 45 lbs needed to put weight on before surgery. Did most of my feedings over night. It helped me tremendously. So 4 treatments of chemo every other week for 2 months. For me just had minor nausea during treatments. Waited 5 weeks after treatments then had surgery. I had two surgeons oncologist and thoracic surgeon. 9 hour surgery and 8 day stay in hospital. First couple days were rough. Had to deflate right lung to operate on my esophagus. They took out 7 inches of esophagus then used part of my stomach to make new esophagus. I started my journey August of 2024 and my surgery was January of 2025. After surgery waited 5 more weeks then had 4 more treatments of chemo. Had more nausea this time but made it through. It’s been 11 months post surgery. But I can eat and drink again so grateful for that. So having a team you trust is so important my oncologist and my surgeons and all the nurses were so caring and supportive. Also my nutritionist was great. Having a great support system is so important my wife and boys and all my family were there for me. Through all this I had a positive attitude I didn’t want this cancer to define me. This journey is different for everyone and the treatments you receive will be a factor also. I eat smaller meals now stomach gets full faster so 4 meals a day for me. So walking and exercise also helps me get my muscle and stamina back. So that’s been my journey so far. I hope this helps some and I’m wishing you the very best. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out. Scott