husband has ec- copd-heart disease

My husband was diagnosed April 1st with ec and the best we can get out of the Dr. it is stage 3. He is not a candidate for surgery because of other health problems. (Basically pallitive care, which I really don't understand that well) He is getting 2 chemo treatments of carboplatin and taxol each month. He has now had his 6th treatment and waiting for another ct aug. 10th.  He doesn't seem to be getting any better, some days he can eat without much problem and other days he throws up everything he eats. He says the mucus causes him to throw up. The chemo is also affecting his heart rate and blood pressure, which to make matters worse he has A-Fib. I am a bundle of nerves and don't know which way to turn. His Dr. doesn't give much info and seems to never look you in the eye which makes me wonder what they are not telling.  Hoping for some good news in august and praying every day. My husband is 72 and very proud, not being able to do anything is hurting him so.  I guess I finally just had to vent.  God bless!!!

So sorry to hear about your husband.  I was 59 when I was diagnosed with ec and it was recommended that I have an esophagectomy.  I was told that it was a severe surgery and that if I were in poorer health or in my 70's they would not consider the surgery. 

It seems that your surgeons are essentially taking the same direction.  I'm sure the copd and afib have helped in making the decision not to do the surgery.

 I know that prayer from a lot of people helped me get through some tough times.  I pray that you and your family can get through this and hope you seek prayer as well.

 

On 7/29/2009 iluvlinda wrote:

So sorry to hear about your husband.  I was 59 when I was diagnosed with ec and it was recommended that I have an esophagectomy.  I was told that it was a severe surgery and that if I were in poorer health or in my 70's they would not consider the surgery. 

It seems that your surgeons are essentially taking the same direction.  I'm sure the copd and afib have helped in making the decision not to do the surgery.

 I know that prayer from a lot of people helped me get through some tough times.  I pray that you and your family can get through this and hope you seek prayer as well.

 

I am saddened to read your message, but want to tell you to take heart and to pray for strength for both of you as you go through this together.  Gather your children together and involve them because they are frightened, too, by this development.  Let your friends of faith know, too, so they can pray with you.

My husband was 73 when he was diagnosed with stage 3 ec.  However, he did not have any health issues and has always been athletic. He underwent 30 sessions of chemo and 25 sessions of radiation, followed by surgery to remove the esophagus and move the stomach into his chest.  It was tough and not an easy time for any of our family.  We did not know if he would survive, but he did.  He is now 75; the whole thing aged him 15-20 years and he has at least three spinal compression fractures from the treatments.  The "cure" definitely is very difficult to survive.

Palliative treatment's goal is to treat the patient enough to make him comfortable; it is not to cure him.  You could certainly seek another oncologist's opinion; I would.  We'll be praying for you both.

Have found that it can be more than chemo affecting heart rate and blood pressure. Husband's heart rate is elevated by dehydration and his blood pressure drops. Once he is hydrated it normalizes. There are many complex, interrelated processes in the body. Sometimes something as simple as keeping a cancer patient reasonably hydrated can be the difference between having these symptoms, and others like nausea, shakiness, cramping, etc. It helps flush out the toxins from the chemo drugs too.

We just got the news yesterday that the 6 chemo treatments that my husband had did not change anything. Cancer remains the same, guess we can be thankful it hasn't spread, still in the lower esophagus and lymph nodes.  Next step in this horrible journey is a feeding tube and start radiation treatments. The Dr. talked about putting him on Xeloda tablets along with the chemo unfortunately our Ins. doesn't cover. We won't know until next week how many treatments or how often. We have 1 1/2 hour drive to cancer center. Does anybody know how many treatments are the norm?  How long does one have to stay in the hospital when getting the tube. He is freaking out because he hates the hospital so. I worry about these 3 hour trips for him during treatment. Having a bad heart and lungs certainly makes all this more difficult. So afraid that all these treatments are taking a toll on his heart.