Tumour in Eosophagus - offered stent or stretching

Hello, this is my first time posting. I'm here for my mum who is 82 and has a 5cm tumour which is 16cm down her eosophogus and currently unable to swallow.

It was discovered 5 weeks ago and she is on palliative care... anyone who is willing to share from personal experiences or that of family members would be greatly appreciated. I'm resisting googling, it sends me into a spiral.

My mum was initially told it wasn't suitable for a stent. She has been readmitted to hospital as had gone from being able to manage to drink and get very soft food - ice cream, fortisip - to being unable to swallow. They have now given the option of a stent or stretching with ansmall balloon. Apparently both come with risks of a tear and unfortunately my mum's only knowledge of the procedures have had painful outcomes in my dad with a stent in 2018 which led to uncontrolable pain afterwards and my gran who had the stretching, allbeit in the 1980s.

I'm not looking for false hope or medical advice from strangers, i would just be very grateful to hear honest experiences to help us weigh up the two options. 

many thanks in anticipation

Parents
  • Hi Kt101,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. I'm so sorry to hear of the tough situation you are in with your mum - this must be a lot to try to process and to know what to do.

    I understand you're looking for experiences or thoughts from others who may have gone through something similar. My reply will give your post a little boost so a few more people should see it. From the homepage of the forum you can also use the search bar at the top to find other relevant discussions and people to connect with, if you'd like to.

    We also have nurses available if you'd like to talk this through at all. You can reach them on freephone 0808 800 4040 - Monday-Friday, 9-5.

    Hopefully you'll get more replies here soon. We're always here for support whenever you need it - and wishing you all the best with the next steps with your mum,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator

Reply
  • Hi Kt101,

    Welcome to Cancer Chat. I'm so sorry to hear of the tough situation you are in with your mum - this must be a lot to try to process and to know what to do.

    I understand you're looking for experiences or thoughts from others who may have gone through something similar. My reply will give your post a little boost so a few more people should see it. From the homepage of the forum you can also use the search bar at the top to find other relevant discussions and people to connect with, if you'd like to.

    We also have nurses available if you'd like to talk this through at all. You can reach them on freephone 0808 800 4040 - Monday-Friday, 9-5.

    Hopefully you'll get more replies here soon. We're always here for support whenever you need it - and wishing you all the best with the next steps with your mum,

    Ben
    Cancer Chat Moderator

Children
No Data