Mother was diagnosed with this cancer today, what should I expect?

stormflora

Some backstory. My mother (53) is critically anorexic (15-20 years in the making), mixed with a handful of different psychological issues, and the doctor today is setting her up with TPN after a failed tube feed attempt (she is completely unable to eat or drink right now). Clearer diagnosis of the cancer and treatment will come after she's bulked up a bit and improved in health. But the cancer is definitely there.

My mother, as one of her psychological problems, has an insane phobia of pretty much anything medical related (doctors, hospitals, surgeries, etc.) and would aggressively refuse them. (That primarily contributed to why she is critically anorexic; she was never willing to get help and was constantly in denial and confident that she could "solve it herself.") She pretty much gets a free pass on avoiding surgeries because of that condition.

What I'd like to know is, what should I expect from the TPN, and the cancer treatments? Can it be surgery-less? Is it better/worse? How long will she likely be hospitalized for? What kind of costs am I to expect?

I'm sorry if it sounds a bit vague, but this is all really sudden for me and I'm still trying to process and cope. I'm in Toronto (Canada) and covered by OHIP if that's helpful information. If there are any details you need, just ask away.

paul61

You may have better luck getting answers on another site

Hi Flora,

I am so sorry to hear about your mother's struggles. In the time I have been posting on this site I have not seen a lot of people posting from Canada. However, I have seen a number of folks from Canada posting on Smart Patients https://www.smartpatients.com/

I would suggest you try posting your question there in the esophageal cancer section and you will probably get many more meaningful answers.

Best Regards,

Paul

stormflora

paul61 said:

You may have better luck getting answers on another site

Hi Flora,

I am so sorry to hear about your mother's struggles. In the time I have been posting on this site I have not seen a lot of people posting from Canada. However, I have seen a number of folks from Canada posting on Smart Patients https://www.smartpatients.com/

I would suggest you try posting your question there in the esophageal cancer section and you will probably get many more meaningful answers.

Best Regards,

Paul

@paul61

@paul61

Thank you, I will try asking there.