Chemo radiation question and malnutrition

pam716

My father had MIE surgery on the 13 of October for esophageal cancer located at the GE junction. The biospy report showed cancer cells in stomach. Had 6 weeks chemo radiation post surgery for the stomach which he completed on the 13th of Jan. Is it normal to still feel really weak almost 4 weeks after treatment is complete? He had a really hard time eating starting around week 3 of radiation. He is eating a little better now but his voice is also hoarse at times. Has anyone had this happen? They did not radiate the esophagus but he did have mouth sores during treatment. Had a swallow study done last week because he felt food was getting stuck and it appears everything is okay but appetite is still not great. The oncologist does not seem very concerned. He is trying to gain back some of the 21 pounds he lost during chem-radiation but the smaller stomach is making it pretty challenging. I sometimes wonder if the current state is as good as it is going to get for him and if recovery from the treatment will be possible.

paul61

It does take some time to recover from treatment
Pam,

As someone who had chemotherapy after surgery I can tell you that it does take some time to recover from the assault that surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation makes on our body.

In my case I would say that it was about three months before I felt I was recovered from the effects of chemotherapy. It is important to remember that most chemotherapy drugs continue to work for three weeks after the last treatment and take a considerable amount of time to clear from the patient's system.

Even with a minimally invasive esophagectomy many patients report that it took them six to eight months to recover from surgery and learn their "new normal" eating pattern.

I had an Ivor Lewis surgery (a more invasive surgical approach) and it took me a year to recover to the point that I felt "good" again.

I would not be concerned if it takes your father some time to recover.


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
Two year survivor

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

pam716

paul61 said:

It does take some time to recover from treatment
Pam,

As someone who had chemotherapy after surgery I can tell you that it does take some time to recover from the assault that surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation makes on our body.

In my case I would say that it was about three months before I felt I was recovered from the effects of chemotherapy. It is important to remember that most chemotherapy drugs continue to work for three weeks after the last treatment and take a considerable amount of time to clear from the patient's system.

Even with a minimally invasive esophagectomy many patients report that it took them six to eight months to recover from surgery and learn their "new normal" eating pattern.

I had an Ivor Lewis surgery (a more invasive surgical approach) and it took me a year to recover to the point that I felt "good" again.

I would not be concerned if it takes your father some time to recover.


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
Two year survivor

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

Thanks Paul
Paul,

Thanks so much for your response. I am very happy to hear that although recovery is slow it is possible. I am glad that you are feeling and doing well.

Unknown

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

pam716

unknown said:

This comment has been removed by the Moderator

Pet scan ct scan only showed primary tumor
Hi Sherri,

PET scan and CT scan presurgery did not show the cancer cells in the stomach. Presurgery they thought he had stage 2 esophogeal cancer. Has multiple other health issues(diabetes, heart disease, and stage 3 kidney disease). Since all tests were indicating stage 2 oncologist felt he was on border of current treatment protocols and felt it was better to go directly to surgery. During surgery they found the tumor was a T3. He did have 13 lymph nodes removed 2 were positive. The tumor looked pretty unusual. Surgeon said most tumors mushroom out and his appeared to do the opposite. Tumor was later reviewed by the tumor board at the hospital. During surgery a biospy was also taken of the stomach. Biospy reviewed by 2 separate pathologists and cells found on second review. The surgeon indicated the surgery that should have been done if they had known would have been total removal of the stomach. It was the surgeons belief that he would not have survived this surgery so he was offered chemo radiation. He had 6 weeks of radiation to the stomach while receiving a constant infusion of 5fu. My father did have a j tube after surgery. He lost 20 pounds after mie which was okay because he started at 207 lbs. At time of cancer diagnosis he had no issues swallowing or eating. Cancer was only found because he presented with unexplained anemia. Since he was maintaining his weight after the surgery they allowed him to have the jtube removed. During last few weeks of chemo radaition and the first 2 weeks after treatment he lost another 20 pounds. It seems like this cancer is hard to stage accurately until the actual surgery.