esophagectomy

Billcan

I'm a 76 year old man with a mechanical aortic valve recently diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
Physicians recommend an esophagectomy.
I would greatly appreciate hearing from someone who's undergone the process, how it affects
their quality of life, etc.
Thank you,
Billcan

Unknown

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

paul61

Some "minor" life style changes
Bill,

I am a 62 year old male diagnosed with EC in late 2009. I was staged as T2N1M0 (Stage IIB). I had an esophagectomy in December of 2009 followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.

My quality of life after a year of recovery is similar to the quality of life I had prior to my diagnosis. The changes include:

1. I eat six small meals each day rather than three large meals
2. Sugar is no longer a part of my diet. Items with high sugar content cause my "new plumbing" to process food too quickly and results in diarrhea.
3. I had to learn to eat more slowly and chew my food more thoroughly to avoid abdominal discomfort after eating.
4. My medical routine includes a CT scan and complete medical examination by my oncologist every few months to monitor for recurrence.

I am back to enjoying life with my wife and friends. I walk about 4 miles most days for exercise and I play golf on a regular basis.

I would be less than honest if I said that recovery from surgery and chemotherapy was easy, but it was manageable, with the support of my loving wife and family.

You will find other survivors on this site that have had esophagectomies with other health issues with good outcomes. It is important to find a medical facility and surgeon who has significant experience with EC. If you can tell us a bit more about your location, type of insurance, and staging we can be more specific about our recommendations.

Best Regards,

Paul Adams
McCormick, South Carolina

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
6/21/2010 CT Scan NED
3/14/2011 CT Scan NED

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

BMGky

paul61 said:

Some "minor" life style changes
Bill,

I am a 62 year old male diagnosed with EC in late 2009. I was staged as T2N1M0 (Stage IIB). I had an esophagectomy in December of 2009 followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.

My quality of life after a year of recovery is similar to the quality of life I had prior to my diagnosis. The changes include:

1. I eat six small meals each day rather than three large meals
2. Sugar is no longer a part of my diet. Items with high sugar content cause my "new plumbing" to process food too quickly and results in diarrhea.
3. I had to learn to eat more slowly and chew my food more thoroughly to avoid abdominal discomfort after eating.
4. My medical routine includes a CT scan and complete medical examination by my oncologist every few months to monitor for recurrence.

I am back to enjoying life with my wife and friends. I walk about 4 miles most days for exercise and I play golf on a regular basis.

I would be less than honest if I said that recovery from surgery and chemotherapy was easy, but it was manageable, with the support of my loving wife and family.

You will find other survivors on this site that have had esophagectomies with other health issues with good outcomes. It is important to find a medical facility and surgeon who has significant experience with EC. If you can tell us a bit more about your location, type of insurance, and staging we can be more specific about our recommendations.

Best Regards,

Paul Adams
McCormick, South Carolina

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
6/21/2010 CT Scan NED
3/14/2011 CT Scan NED

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

Good words of encouragement
Glad to hear you are doing so well, Paul. May it continue. I completely agree with what you said. I'm excited for the gentleman that they are offering him a chance for surgery. Hopefully, he will let us know more so that he can be given more information.

yesterday12345

unknown said:

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

my son
Hello,
My son (41) had mie surgery and recovered relatively quickly. He has now finished his first course of chemo and his white count dropped dramatically. He has received shots to stimulate growth and that is working. He is scheduled to have 6 courses of a three drug cocktail and we simply are trying to determine if that is too much. He had no chemo prior to surgery. His staging was almost identical to yours. He had 11 of 24 nodes test positive. We stongly believe that diet plays an important role in reducing the chances of recurrence but I certainly want him to have the best chance for a long life as possible. He has two young and incredible daughter ages 8 and 10. What are your thoughts as to the number of chemo treatments are necessary?

thank you for your help.

sandy1943

yesterday12345 said:

my son
Hello,
My son (41) had mie surgery and recovered relatively quickly. He has now finished his first course of chemo and his white count dropped dramatically. He has received shots to stimulate growth and that is working. He is scheduled to have 6 courses of a three drug cocktail and we simply are trying to determine if that is too much. He had no chemo prior to surgery. His staging was almost identical to yours. He had 11 of 24 nodes test positive. We stongly believe that diet plays an important role in reducing the chances of recurrence but I certainly want him to have the best chance for a long life as possible. He has two young and incredible daughter ages 8 and 10. What are your thoughts as to the number of chemo treatments are necessary?

thank you for your help.

Hi, Welcome to our family.
Hi, Welcome to our family. You have come to the right place to get some answers. Please respond by writing on your own.
What stage was your son? Where did He have his surgery? What are the three chemos he's taking. We need this information to know more about his treatment. Are they going to do radiation?
We all have received different treatment. I had chemo before my surgey. I'm sure someone has received treatment similar that will be answering.
Please respond back and let us know more about your son.
Sandra