Hello Nick, 

I am so sorry you have recently been told the difficult news that you have oesophagus cancer. Poor you being unable to eat anything for almost 3 weeks. It does sound like excruciating pain and it sounds like this needs addressing urgently. 

Is there any way you could try and speak to your consultant before your appointment on the 21st? Try and give the consultant's secretary a call maybe and to insist that you need some help in relation to getting the adequate pain relief. I think it would also be a good idea to discuss the fact that you have not been able to eat anything really for almost 3 weeks. This is bound to make you feel really weak. As it's the weekend, perhaps you could ring 111 and bring all this up and ask for advice and if you don't manage to get in touch with your consultant before the 21st, perhaps you could try your GP and see whether they can help you see a specialist at the hospital urgently. There is also the option of ringing 999 if you feel you need urgent care and attention. 

I hope you manage to speak to someone Nick as soon as possible and I am sure that they will be able to help you find the right kind of pain relief and nutrition. It's definitely important that you speak to someone as soon as you can about this as it really sounds very painful and is severely impacting your quality of life.

Our nurses are also available on this free number 0808 800 4040 - their line is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm (until 22nd Dec then closed until 28th Dec over Christmas). 

Hopefully you will hear from others here who have had a similar diagnosis in the past and they will be along shortly to share their experience with you. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Thank you Lucie, that's a very comprehensive reply with lots of great advice. Thank you for taking the time to write that up for me and I'll be sure to follow your advice fully.