just found out my mum has esophageal cancer

[candyfluff]

any experiences - im so upset

[FallenMadonnawiththeBadBoobies]

Sorry, I meant the original post was 6 years ago.

[FallenMadonnawiththeBadBoobies]

I know this is an old thread, and I have breast cancer and don't know a great deal about oesophageal cancer.

However, I must correct what some have been saying about what is likely to happen if cancer is in the lymph nodes, as I feel there may be an unintended consequence of causing distress to others who have loved ones with cancer or have cancer themselves. This is NOT a death sentence.

The lymph nodes are there to protect the body against nasties such as cancer. It is not uncommon for one or more lymph nodes to be affected and, whilst it is true that the prognosis may not always be as good as where no lymph nodes are affected, if the affected lymph nodes are removed with the cancerous lump, outcomes can be extremely good. (At least I bloody well hope so as I had one affected lymph node!).

In fact, in cases where cancer has spread elsewhere, outcomes can still be good. The OPs post was some 10 years ago and treatment has improved a great deal since then and continues to improve.

My best wishes go out to all those who are struggling with this awful disease.

[soimpressed]

Sorry for you.

I have two stories of this. My dad was diagnosed age 80 he had the op, it didn't show as having spread to lymph nodes and lived a further 3 years. He had radiotherapy and chemo when it became clear it had spread. He was never the same after the op but did have 3 more years. My friends dad was about your mum's age he also had the op, no sign it having spread to the lymph nodes. He is still alive and well 8 years after diagnosis.

If it hasn't spread to the lymph nodes i would urge her to have the op.

[mrscee]

My dad died from this cancer but this was 17 years ago, he went private for treatment however from diagnosis to passing away was 6 months. I

[mrscee]

I'm so sorry to here this. My dad had this type of cancer it's awful to see your parents going through this. Try and stay strong for your mum big hugs

[lljkk]

Oh fig, well spotted Gingerroots.

[gingeroots]

[gingeroots]

I think candyfluff who started this thread in 2010 had a mother who was not wanting treatment .
fifimummy resurrected the thread a couple of days ago bevause her mum had just been dx .

//flowers to those who have lost people to this disease ,I can't imagine how painful that must have been .

[yeOldeTrout]

Nobody wants to spend their last weeks suffering from pointless treatment, but if it was my mom, I would want to ask her to consider if any of the treatments could at least delay the disease without making her life unpleasant. Talk to the doctor about the options. Maybe could sell this to her as giving her more time to put her things in order & give rest of family time to come to terms. Problem with someone age 60+ is they only have one vision of what treatment for cancer means (grim options of 1970s). She may have much better options than that. When she is ready to face up to it all.

Atul Gawande's videos (find on youtube) about supporting people facing terminal illness can be good to watch.

Good luck. x

[gingeroots]

I think it's a cancer which is often dx late and when that is the case it has often become inoperable or spread to other organs .

If caught before it's spread it's usually quite treatable .But hard to generalise of course as everyone is different .

[Scrumptiousbears]

My dad had this. He hid it from us and claimed he didn't know what it was that was causing the illness. I think he thought he was saving us from hurt and pain but he made it worse.

He too lost a lot of weight, couldn't swallow, had reflux etc. He refused to go to the doctors claiming they didn't believe him. I even wrote the GP a letter asking them to come to the house and see him which they did. He told them to go away.

He was taken into hospital by ambulance on the Wednesday. By Friday I was called by the doctors to say he had 4 hours to live and to come in to see him. In fact he lived a further 48 hours. He also had secondary cancer in his liver.

My work colleagues mum also had it and she went private and had various treatment. She lived about 3 years before she died. This is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer. Im so sorry you are having to go through this. It's really fucking shit

[tristerflexu]

I've a good friend who he this. 5 years later she's 100% fit and well.

[Tanfastic]

A friend was diagnosed with this last year. Unfortunately by the time it was diagnosed it was inoperable. They lived about nine months after diagnosis, had a stent to make things more comfortable, a little bit of chemo to prolong things a little. Once they stopped chemo it was pretty quick to be honest.

[gingeroots]

This site is good healthunlocked.com/oesophagus/posts
and this www.opa.org.uk/ has some useful fact sheets and a helpline .

I personally didn't find MacMillan any help ,in fact it seemed to me that their main objective was to get my contact details so that they could add me to their mailing list and keep asking for donations!

It is all horribly scary ,especially the thought of the op .But I found none of it as bad as I feared .

[gingeroots]

Just thought I'd add my two pennyworth .

I was dx with oesphageal cancer 3 years ago ,had chemo ,op to remove oesphageous ,more chemo and apart from a few side effects I'd say I'm fine now .

AFAIK if cancer has already spread to other organs then the prognosis is not good . If it's spread to some lymph nodes it's not so bad ,certainly not a case of "there's nothing they can do " . Hopefully the chemo will prevent the spread and reduce the tumour . They'll remove the affected lymph nodes during the surgery .

Everyone is very different but I coped well with the chemo ( lots of drugs to control nausea) and with the operation .You'd be amazed if you saw me now .

IME the worst bits were waiting for the dx and having the op hanging over my head .

Do feel free to ask me any questions - however small or big .

[fifimummy]

I'm sorry to hijack an old thread, not sure where else to post :(
Partners mum has been told today she has this...
awaiting screening to find out about lymph nodes....It's a blo**y horrible thing, but I am grateful for all of your honesty in the posts xx

[graciesmall09]

Really sorry I have just noticed this is an old thread.

Sorry Red80 about your dad. Thoughts are with you.

[graciesmall09]

Sorry about your mum. A friend's dad was diagnosed a couple of years ago. It had spread to one lymph node. However, he went on to have chemo and they removed part of his oesophagus and stretched part of his stomach. It was tough going for him for a while but he is doing well, back to playing golf, etc. Every so often he has to get his oesophagus stretched again but he is fine.

Thinking about you, your sister and your mum. Sometimes the shock can make us say things we don't mean. Perhaps when she has had a few days to think things over she may want to go ahead with the treatment. Chemo isn't the nicest experience but they do manage the side effects.

[red80]

My thoughts are with you I have just had the same news re my gorgeous dad. Been a real rollercoaster. I'm trying to stay positive as can be and remember that statistics are just numbers, nothing more. Outlook is important too. Some people have dismissed out of hand the advice re berries, oils etc. Given that my dad is inoperable and doesn't want chemo I have been looking into this as there's little else I can do to help and it has given me comfort to know I have been able to get him some foods which may improve things for him. I'm still hoping for a miracle and I wish you the very best. Love and light to you all.

[doozle]

Well my dad had it and lived for many years after diagnosis. It was a very slow growing cancer. He eventually died in his 70s.

He had 2 rounds of chemo which managed to reduce the tumour, allowing him to eat better and have a good quality of life.

Your mum needs to have all the tests to see about possible spread and then you'll be in a much better position to know where you go from here.

Fingers crossed for you and her.

[candyfluff]

i have ignored it

[MaryAnnSingleton]

sending you lots of good wishes candyfluff - I am so sorry to hear about your mum. Please disregard the unhelpful tosh written by healthebody - it's not relevent and is distressing -such people have appeared on the tamoxifen thread causing much distress.

[CarGirl]

[candyfluff]

i actually have 3 sisters its just that my little sister is closer to her than we are.

[CarGirl]

So sorry Candy I think generally the outcome isn't good in terms of length of time, certainly hasn't been for the 3 other people I know who've had this.

Huge hugs please make the most of the time you have and make some special memories.