My husband is currently on a trial for this type of cancer, he has stage 3 with a slight chance of surgery after the chemo and immunotherapy cycles.
We found the waiting for test results horrendous, he first went to the hospital at the beginning of October, we would wait a week after each test for the results, he finally started his treatment a week before christmas, we're now halfway through, he's not had any of the bad side affects from either immunotherapy or chemo and actually feels that eating is now slightly easier, Still a long way to go and we won't know if he can have surgery until the surgeon has done aother laparoscopy at the ned of the treatment,
We take each day as it comes, he's still managing to work - fortunately he can work from home - he gets tired a lot and he tends to be 'off' for a day or so after the IV's.
Feel free to ask me anything, I'll do my best to answer, i know from our experience that it is a very traumatic time waiting on results
Hi my husband also has stage 3 oesophagus cancer. How long did you wait from diagnosis to first treatment? It's been 6 weeks so far for my husband and we haven't had the planning meeting yet.
No, not that I am aware of. He has been assigned a Mcmillan nurse and given some advice on what to eat. He really isn't eating that much and like someone else above he is losing weight quite rapidly.
My Dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the oesophagus in March. He lives so far away from us I am struggling to deal with everything . He has refused to go to hospital and just wants to be left alone. He’s lost so much weight and barely eating. He’s refused a stent . My step-mum is finding it difficult as he is very aggressive towards her at times (this is new) .
It must be so difficult for your step mum. It sounds like your dad is really scared. The only thing I can suggest is that your step mum doesn't try to nag him to do any thing. I tried to encourage my husband to eat and just got aggravation for it. I have backed off now. Just asking oh have you had some breakfast for eg. But not going on if he says he hasn't. Hope this helps.
I would highly recommend your step mum continue to meet her friends.
Dear All, I was diagnosed with esophageal cancer October 2017 & went through chemo & radiotherapy & finished 1st April 2018 thankfully I am doing pretty well now.
It was stage 3 & had not spread even though they thought I had a second site of cancer but thankfully I didn't after various checks.
Prior to treatment I could not eat, I was choking on food. I started on a food supplement called foodlink complete & it comes in various favours & as it was liquid I could drink very slowly. They are very tasty.
Everyone is different & I hope above will help a little.
Please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions that I might be able to help with.
There are some groups. I used an amazing Cancer Centre in Purley & would recommend them. Cancer & the Centre helped change my whole outlook on life & I appreciate every moment however for me I would not want to survive & not be able to live my life fully as I don't have children but again all are different.
Thinking of all of you as I know it is extremely difficult for family & friends. That always made me sad to see carers exhausted whilst looking after someone having chemo. Carers must look after themselves as they need to keep themselves in good health too. Cancer Centres are great for Carers too. It doesn't mean people are just talking about cancer. We laughed about many things & participated in so much.
My husband now has a date for the final staging laparoscopy on the 26th, however is appointment for the results isn't till the 7th of may. Treatment could be another 2 to 3 weeks after that. Is this amount of delay normal? I am quite concerned they are going to miss the maximum 62 day target from diagnosis to first treatment. My husbands cancer has already gone to some lymph nodes.
Symptoms he didn't have a few weeks ago are starting to appear. Such as pain when walking breathlessness and increased difficulty eating.
I feel your pain with all the waiting, my husband was diagnosed on 11th November last year and didn't start treatment until 18th December, this would have been longer but he joined a trial for immunotherapy. The trial has worked quite well, he can almost eat normally again, his cancer has shrunk by about 2 centimetres. He is sceduled for surgery this week.
His was stage 3 with 8 lymph nodes affected, hopefully in a few days it wil all be gone.
Hang in there and keep strong, I know everyone says it and sometimes you really want to hit back with something, we've managed to keep our sense of humour throughout and always looked at it positively.
Hope the treatment starts soon for your husband and it all goes well
I feel your pain with all the waiting, my husband was diagnosed on 11th November last year and didn't start treatment until 18th December, this would have been longer but he joined a trial for immunotherapy. The trial has worked quite well, he can almost eat normally again, his cancer has shrunk by about 2 centimetres. He is sceduled for surgery this week.
His was stage 3 with 8 lymph nodes affected, hopefully in a few days it wil all be gone.
Hang in there and keep strong, I know everyone says it and sometimes you really want to hit back with something, we've managed to keep our sense of humour throughout and always looked at it positively.
Hope the treatment starts soon for your husband and it all goes well
At the moment we don't know the size of my husbands cancer, just that it is stage 3b. So it's in up to 6 lymph nodes. They were concerned about a lymph node near his aorta but it came back within normal parameters. Which isn't quite the same as saying it's normal. So I expect they will keep a particular watch on that area.
The next results meeting isn't till the 7th of may, so I will get in touch with my husbands cancer nurse
My husband has signed up for a trial where they give you chemo and radiotherapy at the same time.
I hope it goes well for you both Caz68. It took weeks of tests and waiting before we got the size fo the cancer, my husband also has one of the affeced lymph nodes very close to the aorta, it's hte only one the surgeon is concerned about due to it's position. Before the trial it was touch and go as to whether surgery was an option. It's a long hard slog and recovery takes months not weeks so we've been told.
Hang on in there, if you want to chat feel free to direct message me - if that's possible on here
My hubby had both chemo and radiation at the same time. Chemo every Monday for 6 weeks and radiation each day for 6 weeks. Hope your husbands treatment works well.
