Hi Bodmin, firstly, *** news about the diagnosis, you must be feeling awful.
I was diagnosed back in June 22 and still fight the disease. There is hope and treatment that can help control or eradicate the disease.
There are lots off chat rooms and the ones I found most helpful and easily accessible were on facebook.
Macmillan nurses if you don't get immediate help from the oncology team. www.macmillan.org.uk, cancerresearchuk.org
Contact your oncology team and doctor and tell them about the eating difficulties.
Request an appointment and ask about liquid foods like esure. You can also buy at pharmacies supermarkets but you should be given this asap under prescription.
Don't wait, I did and lost so much weight it nearly killed me before I was provided treatment.
Ask about feeding tube or stent as soon as possible in case swallowing becomes more difficult.
I had a feeding tube fitted and it saved my life. Stents can also be installed. Ask, demand and survive.
Be vocal in your concerns and insist that options and help is given as soon as possible
I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis and appreciate what an anxious time this must be for you.
If you haven't recently heard from the hospital regarding the next steps I would encourage you to contact them. While others on here may be able to share their stories with you, wait time between hospitals and being seen and starting treatment can vary.
I am sorry to hear you are struggling to eat, this is a problem many patients with oesophageal cancer face and we have some tips and information about eating a soft/ liquid diet and so on, on oureating problems with oesophageal cancerweb pages.
Do air your concerns about your difficulty eating with your doctor/s so they can also advise you. It may be helpful for you to speak with a dietician and there is the cancer and nutrition helpline provided by theworld cancer research fund, so you may wish to reach out to them as well.
As you say there may be other patients on the forum who can also share suggestions with you, so hopefully they will jump on and connect with you as well. There are other oesophageal/stomach cancer charities specific to these types of cancers that may also be able to help includingGUTS UKandThe oesophageal patients association.
I hope this is helpful and that you are able to get the support and treatment you need very soon.
Please get back if you need to or if you prefer give one of the nurses a call on 0808 800 4040, weekdays 9-5.
