Cancer has spread even with 3 rounds of chemotherapy

My dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer at the end of September 2011. He started chemo infusions in October, every three weeks with chemo pills daily in between. In November, he was admitted into the hospital due to severe dehydration and a stint was put in so he could eat and drink by mouth. He was vomiting everything that he ate or drank.

On Christmas Eve 2011, he was admitted again into the hospital because he had fallen. He was progressively getting worse and lost over 50 pounds. After a CT scan was done, we found out the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes and liver and is inoperable due the extent of the spread of his cancer. The doctors told us that they have never seen the cancer spread especially after 3 rounds of chemo therapy.

Has anyone else experienced this? We thought we caught it early because it was a small tumor in his esophagus, now it has spread and spread quickly. His only other option is more chemotherapy plus radiation but because of his physical condition, this is not an option at this time. He already has a j tube placed but his muscle mass is not returning. Any suggestions on this? I know I'm looking for answers but we did not expect this to happen. We thought after the chemotherapy, he would have the operation to remove the tumor.

He is going home today with hospice care.