Esophageal Cancer: Surgery Or Not?

Did you have any complications? Leaks or having to be stretched because of scar tissue?

Hi my name is Scott I’m 62. I’ve had surgery for my EC. Sounds like mine might be different. I had two surgery teams. One team from the front which they worked first to unhook my stomach from my esophagus and take nodes out to check for spread of cancer. Other team went in my right side deflating my lung and taking 20 cm of my esophagus out and using part of my stomach for my new esophagus. 9 hr surgery. Hospital stay was 8 days. My surgical teams were awesome. After surgery waited 4 weeks then started my last 4 chemo treatments. I was glad I had the surgery. But it’s definitely a very personal choice. What ever your dad decides. I hope everything works out for him and you and family. Stay strong.

Can I ask why not? My dad has done chemo and radiation but is not sure on surgery?

I decided this week, finally and definitely, to not have the surgery. What a weight has been lifted off my back and shoulders and head and heart!

Hello, my husband had Ivor Lewis surgery also, 7 months ago..yes the surgery was rough, initially he held on to his weight reasonably well but has now lost 34lbs…he was tall and thin before his diagnosis so he couldn’t afford to lose any weight at all. He has recently been diagnosed with anorexia as hes struggling to gain any weight. We are booked in to see a surgeon closer to home in 12 days time…hoping he will get him sorted with a Jtube. This is such a struggle and no one has really done anything to help. His gp said he needs to have a protein supplement drink…3 a day but he hates it so will only have 1 daily. I’m praying the surgeon will insist on the Jtube…feeling very worried 😟 he also has dumping syndrome which doesn’t help and I’m finding preparing his meals a nightmare…

I’m so sorry to hear you have been through so much….my husbands lungs collapsed while he was in ch ch. It was so frightening…but he came thru after a few days in intensive care. It’s certainly a journey isn’t it. Thinking of you and your husband and sending hugs x

Oh for goodness sake ! Small world ! We are in Timaru ! My husband had his surgery in ch ch hospital. His surgeon was Rukshan Ranjan…quite young but very good. He had 4 sessions of FLOT chemo b4 the Ivor Lewis surgery which shrunk the tumour considerably. Could only handle one session after op. Six months post op and he’s not feeling too bad in himself, just can’t do anywhere near what he could do before he was diagnosed, and gets quite tired at times. I think as hes still slowly losing weight, this doesn’t help. He’s always been tall and thin but he’s lost around 30 lbs so far. Hopefully it will calm down soon and he can gain some. Gets full quickly after eating a small amount. Lovely to hear from another kiwi 😊

Hi. I live in Christ Church. Where did your husband have his surgery and how long ago? Iv been searching for other kiwis for ages

I'm on a similar path as your advisee. I'd like to add a further consideration to the decision: patient age. An informative Youtube presentation at a Thoracic Surgery symposium included a broad survey of survival length surgery and surgery-declined histories of EC patients with Stages 2 and 3 diagnoses, yielding a finding of an average 20 percent reduction of life expectancy for those opting against surgery. A patient at an advanced age might well determine that such a result would be less significant than the length of time for surgery, recovery and significant change in nutritional habits if surgical intervention is an option. I completely agree with your listed important considerations facing patients in these situations, but would simply add how age, whether relatively youthful or advanced, might be an important consideration as well. I'm in the latter age group and it's something I'm thinking hard about when I'll be discussing options with my medical team.

I will pray for you too. My husband had 4 FLOT treatments b4 surgery, then surgery and was going to have another 4 FLOT treatments but found it too hard on him post surgery. Apparently a lot can’t handle it the same after. He managed the chemo ok….the injections after it were what affected him the most. They work on keeping your immune system fighting. He had some neuropathy in his feet which started around the 2 nd course but that is fine now. Make sure he wears gloves and a scarf in the cold as that particular chemo can make being out in the cold difficult. All this has gone now and he’s feeling pretty good in himself. I’m sure your husband will manage it too. 🙂 we live in the South Island in New Zealand. Thanks for yr reply.