esophageal cancer

Hi, im new to the group.

April 2019 my brother was diagnosed with esophageal cancer at the age of 39. He went on to have his first lot of chemo, all seemed to be going well. Then he had his 2nd round of chemo which seemed great again, he actually gained some weight back during that one. Just before Christmas my brother went into hospital for a full gastrectomey and since then hes just gone down hill! We know his cancer is not curable but treatable. But since Christmas hes lost 3 stone, he has had difficulty swallowing the tiny amount of food he can handle,in constant pain,being sick. Over a week ago he went back into hospital as he was severely dehydrated, had some scans which found he had fluid on his lungs. That got sorted by key hole surgery, still went on to struggling to eat in hospital, more tests revealed he had pockets of fluid all round his belly. Last night he went in for keyhole surgery to drain them but the fluid was too thick. Instead they had to do a bigger operation,remove a rib also to get where a fluid pocket was. The rib has also been sent off for testing. Hes currently in ICU, in huge amounts of pain and been told whilst all this is happening he defiantly wont be getting his chemo at the moment. His body is too weak for it. He wont stand a chance. 

Hes just so so sick and a skeleton of his old self :( i fear he may not even make it to his chemo. We know he wont live for years and years to come. But i feel like this is the start of the end kicking in :( his chances of infections or heart failure have increased. He even told my mum last night hes had enough now. Enough of this kind of life and pain. 

  • Hello there

     

    i am sorry to read your sad post. Your brother is so young to have this horrible disease. I am surprised that they operated if he was told that his cancer is not curable.  Quality of life is important when the time is limited. I do hope the hospital is able to stabilise his condition so that he is pain free and can come home.

     

    My husband was diagnosed with the same illness in October but was told he couldn't have an op, just chemo to extend his time left. He was 72 at the time which I think is more usual. It sounds as though the operation is very gruelling.

     

    Best wishes

    Ronnie

  • Thanks for your reply.

    Yes, hes had 2 major operations and 2 keyhole surgeries in just under 3 months. They have not mentioned anything about him just having chemo alone. Its all getting too much for him now, he defiantly has no quality of life at all :( life is a misery for him. Very sorry to read about your husband.

  • Hello, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. My husband is 46 had his esophagus removed last March, all seemed to be going well but it turned out he had a leak. Where he'd been drinking water he had fluid on his lungs, and his heart which led to sepsis and pneumonia. He was on life support for several months, he had 3 large drains in his lungs for months, he was on dialysis, he had a further operation to wash his lungs of all the muck. numerous times I was called in to say he had hours left to live. It took a long time to wean him off the ventilator and he also had to have a tracheotomy. He lost 85% muscle mass and had to learn to walk again. He spent 9 months in hospital and came home just before Christmas. Much to the delight of our two young children. He too was unable to keep anything down and relied on feeding tubes. Since being home he has slowly built up a tolerance to food, starting with soup and introducing other soft foods. He still has bad days but he now has more good ones. I guess my point is please don't give up hope. Even when it looks like it could be the end. He had a break down in hospital, he'd had enough physically and mentally he was broken. He saw several psychiatrists which helped. I really do understand what you are going through as a loved one. It's a big mountain to climb but one step at a time you will get there x