Hi does anyone know of a five year survival after receiving flot chemo for oesophagus cancer stage 3? My husband is 6months post surgery and currently no detectable signs of cancer.
I had stomach cancer which follows the same treatment, I had my stomach removed and FLOT before and after surgery diagnosed in August 2018 aged 46.
ive tried to stay away from statistics as I know they never look good and frankly it scares me. My oncologist said he'd seen it return in days/weeks/months and years but it also may never return, it feels like a lottery.
on a positive note I attended my first support group a week ago, most of the people there were elderly and years past surgery, one 12 years ago, obviously they wouldn't have had FLOT which has had great results yet they're still here and living full lives, it was very uplifting.
We didn't even get that much info. The oncologists said he didn't know the % of recurrence. Which I feel is rubbish. Nor could he define what he meant by high risk of recurrence. I am taking it that its more than likely to come back. You just feel so in the dark lacking even a rough idea of the future risks
We didn't even get that much info. The oncologists said he didn't know the % of recurrence. Which I feel is rubbish. Nor could he define what he meant by high risk of recurrence. I am taking it that its more than likely to come back. You just feel so in the dark lacking even a rough idea of the future risks
Caz68, If push comes to shove, he will give you a rough figure. Even if it is simply you asking him 'is this reasonable?' when quoting him survival rates that you obtained from the internet. Oncologists live by survival rates. It is what they base their treatment plans on. You are entitled to know what the oncologist thinks, even if it is only a ballpark figure..
I did push believe you mean but all he would give is the 50 months survival rate. Which is for all stages of oesophagus cancer not just stage 3.
I think part of the issue is flot chemo is a very new regime for oesophagus cancer.
He wouldn't even give us a rough idea what they meant by high risk. Which I find particularly fustrating as they must have some facts they base the level of risk on.
My husband waited longer than recommended to start pre op chemo and also suffered a significant almost 2 month delay starting chemo after surgery due to illness. Add to this he hasn't managed to completely give up smoking and you can see why I am concerned.
First ct was done the day after last chemo session. Showing no detectable signs of cancer. As a cancer has to be 3mm thick before it can be detected. We are cautiously optimistic with his ct result. I feel it is too soon to celebrate.
Didn't even get that just got general stats. Even my now late husband felt let down by post treatment care. Sadly he lost his fight last june. Just over 2years from diagnosis.
What I found shocking was when a year after his surgery I asked why they weren't doing a ct scan. The cancer nurse replied they only do one if clinically necessary. There was no response when I said so you aren't going to do any tests unless you are pretty sure it's come back. If I was concerned I was told I could pay for a private test.
The nhs ficus on covid has let thousands of cancer patients down
