Thanks for such kind words Terry. I will update when I can.

Hi - sorry to read this.  Mum had cancer of the oesophagus (secondary) following lung cancer.  Like you I felt that we were kept inthe dark and decisions etc not reached as qucikly as we would have liked - I guess as soon as we suspect the 'C' then we go into panic mode and want everything to move as quickly as possible. In hindsight they do things as quickly as they can and want to be sure before they break the news. Unfortunately mum passed away 13 days after being told, but she was very advanced.  Try not to panic and support your mum and yourslef - I'm here if you need to chat (oh, and I am also now dealing with dad and the C and trying to stay positive for him).  Take care, Liz x

Hi Lizzie - sorry to hear you're going through it again. Saw mum again today and she's talking about the practical side of things like getting her hair cut a bit shorter so if she loses it through chemo there'll be less to come off! The hardest thing is that she's so terrified of choking. Hopefully when she sees the surgeons on Thursday we'll know exactly what we're dealing with. She's only just told me that she's had some trouble swallowing for 2 or 3 months now, but put it down to a choking experience she had when she was about 6 years old (she keeps having flashbacks to choking on a tablet and being smacked by the nurse).

She has started to tell friends and neighbours and realises that being able to talk about it is a step towards acceptance. She's been advised to stick to a "soft, sloppy diet" for now. Any suggestions of things I could tempt her with as she has no interest in food but knows she has to keep her strength up. x

Hi Susie

So sorry to hear the news about your Mum's cancer. I went through the same as you are going through now when my husband was diagnosed with cancer of the oesophagus, desperately trying to find things that he was able to swallow without it getting stuck. It was an extremely difficult time but what I did find that he could eat quite easily and I made them every day for him - jelly, but made with part water and part evaporated milk. They slid down quite easily but also contained quite a few calories because of the evaporated milk. Also because he had been prescribed Fortisip drinks which he wasn't too keen on, I used to flavour the jelly with those as well as using the evaporated milk. So he was getting plenty of calories and was able to swallow them too. Other foods worth considering might be anything in sauce (e.g. spaghetti hoops) as we were told not to have thin gravy or sauce on anything, but medium consistency to help the food go down. One doctor told us that if anything did get stuck it might release it if he drank fizzy pop. I admit it never worked for my husband but it does work for some people.

I'm trying hard to think what else he was able to swallow, and remember he was not too bad with soup, but it was usually the 'cream of' variety. Also yogurts and quite a few dessert type foods like mousse. He was also able to eat tinned tomatoes on fried eggs (just trying hard to remember what savoury food he could eat) but most meats were out of the question. After his Chemo he was able to eat bacon if it was softly fried, hot dog sausages etc. But not steak,beef, chicken, liver, or even mince - all these foods tended to get stuck.

Hope some of the above helps in some way.

Love Joan

xxxx

Hi, I also have osophageal cancer and have had difficulty swallowing.  The dietician was great at supplying me with different samples of savoury and sweet supplement drinks, but I didn't like any of them really.  What I found helped me most was recommended by my son and that was whey powder.  I took the strawberry flavour one.  I was diagnosed and began treatment in June.  It is mid osophagus and had spread, particularly to my liver.  Squamous and also small cell - so quite unusual. The only treatment available being chemotherapy.  Fortunately it is working extremely well and is rapidly shrinking the cancer.  It has meant loss of hair etc.  I have found reading self-help books and adopting 'anti-cancer' diet is helping me - but I know that doesn't appeal to everyone.  I have found it helpful to speak to a benefits advisor and not everything is means tested.  Personally good things have come out of my illness, it has made me reassess my life and whats most important (and I think it has made others do that too), I think it has made everyone did deep!!  Best wishes to you and your mother.  xxx

Just a quick update - mum met with her consultant on Thursday, he confirmed she has a tumour in the oesophagus which is very close to the secondary tumour in her neck, early indications are that it hasn't spread any further yet. He is referring her on to an upper GI team as he only specialises in "heads". She has a PET scan on Monday which we're told should pick up anything that the previous scans haven't. He has told her that surgery is not advisable as it would leave her with more swallowing problems, so we are faced with radiotherapy. She is waiting to see the upper GI consultant next week once all the results are in so we still don't really know what her prognosis is.

The good news is she is becoming more positive, I think it was a relief to know what she's dealing with. She also met with a dietician who has advised her to bulk up on protein and calories like whole milk with added milk powder, cheese, cream, butter etc. When we got her home from the hospital she had some cauliflower cheese with added marscapone cheese and a banana milkshake with added milk powder - and she said she really enjoyed it!! For the first time in 2 weeks she ate something with relish instead of forcing it down because she "has to". It was so good to see. The dietician did mention about the fortifying shakes etc but said as mum may need to rely on them later she wants to try and fortify her existing diet for as long as possible so she doesn't get sick of them too soon.

Mixed emotions at the moment, half of me is pleased that mum is perking up and feeling more positive, the other half of me is still scared stiff of what the future holds. I am getting counselling through work to deal with my own emotions, as I know I need to learn to separate my own from my mums. At the beginning I was getting upset for her and wanting her to react in a certain way, but now I realise she has to deal with it her own way. She has adopted my motto though - PMA - Positive Mental Attitude!!

Thanks for all the food suggestions - will mention them to mum.

And Vivienne - so glad to hear that the chemo is helping you xx

latest update - mum has been given an appointment to meet the consultant but it's not til 7th Sept - we're hoping it's a good sign rather than just an indication of how busy they are!

I don't know if anyone is still reading this but it helps me to just put things down in writing. Mum met with the dr today and was told that the latest scan revealed further hotspots in the bones of her neck and in her liver. We and the dr are hopeful that the neck is just the arthritis mum already has but she will be having a bone scan next Tuesday to check. She will also have to have a further MRI of the liver but no date given for that yet. She will now be starting chemo on the 17th. She's been told she will lose her hair and is adamant she will not wear a wig, just some good scarves. We joked that if she loses her eyebrows too we could experiment by drawing on different shaped ones each day!

She has come to accept that this cancer is "life limiting" as the dr put it today, and has already written letters to all family members and also planned her funeral. She is anxious to reassure us that she's not being morbid but just realistic. I think that mum and I both have a pragmatic approach to her illness, whereas my dad and brother both find it hard to talk about how they feel and what is going to happen. I'm just following some very good advice given to a friend's daughter when she had cancer "live for today and tomorrow will look after itself".