chemo/radiation done pending surgery

sammy123
sammy123 Member Posts: 65
in Esophageal Cancer #1
It has been quite a long journey for my husband. He had the radiation and then the chemo. After it was all completted, He literally shut down became dehydrated and needed jtube placement done in hospital. He is 16 days out from last radiation and chemo and still complains of awful burning and is not eating. maybe in addition to the j-tube feeding he gets 1 or 2 cans of ensure in with great amount of coaching verbally. he is due to have surgery end of July, I'm worried he will be still weak and tired. any tips let me know. his jtube is set at 90 cc/hr for 16 hours a day. We were going to have surgery back in florida but he is too weak to travel and trying to get it done with Dr. Luketid in Pittsburgh since it is only 45 minutes away by plane. any "burning" help would be appreciated. I have been told that this is all normal????

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  • BMGky
    BMGky Member Posts: 621
    #2
    Glad to hear he is a
    Glad to hear he is a candidate for surgery. Post chemo/radiation for my husband had lots of adjustments. First, the liquid diet was too sweet for him, and he had to change the product. He absolutely could not stand Ensure, Carnation Instant Breakfast, or other such liquid protein products. Those products are fine; his digestive system was not happy.

    He never could eat/drink anything by mouth during the several weeks pending his surgery. The jtube is what stopped his weight loss and helped him build strength. We went through a pharmacy of medications. All had to be liquid. He reacted to some that were to help appetite. And so forth.

    We never could reach his goal of 6 cans nightly at 95 mL per hour. He took his jtube feeding at night. We would start about 5:00 pm in the afternoon and finish about 8:00 am in the morning. Radiation really dehydrated him. We went to the oncology center to get IV fluids and that really helped him even when he doing the jtube.

    He had stomach pain nightly. He had throat pain. The treatment was very, very hard on him. We were told that such difficulties were normal as one doctor said, "The treatment is brutal." He's always been a strong man, in personality and physique. This treatment really worked on him. I kept a log daily of various issues and successes.

    He got a clear PET scan post chemo/radiation and had his surgery. He had the Ivor Lewis. Challenging and takes about 7 months to feel like he was "normal." It is worth the journey. We are here today, a year and 3 mos post op with No Evidence of Disease!!! Have a scan upcoming in August for which we pray continued good results. He is enjoying life.

    I tried to change the picture for my posts but seemingly now, I never know what will show up. If it is his picture, while much thinner, you can see that big smile and relaxed air about him. Please keep us posted on how he is doing. Oh, yes, Paul who posts on this site gave me excellent advice about eating issues and was ready to offer more help. Mr. Marshall and others have great information as well. Good luck!
  • BMGky
    BMGky Member Posts: 621
    #3
    How are things going with
    How are things going with the jtube and treatment? Please keep us updated.

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