any benefit to radiation for EC

Hello fellow EC patients,

On Monday, my husband with stage iv EC will see the radiologist, if radiation is offered are there any benefit... he is doing well with Xeloda, Herceptin etc right now...one mass in the right rib is gone after 4 rounds of chemo--- PTL

thanks for your help.

The benefit is that it nukes the tumors. Tumors that don't shrink or stop shrinking from the chemo.

What is the plan of treatment? Are they planning on surgery? What does your oncologist want? He referred you to the radiologist so he must think it is necessary or at least wants an opinion.

EC is very aggressive. Don't trust it!

I don't know about Stage IV, but my radiologist was convinced he got all the cancer with the radiation.  It also shrunk the tumor so that my esophagus could be removed.  Radiation does have side effects and can be nasty, but if it shrinks the tumor and kills those cells, it gives the body more of a chance.  Trust your doctors and if you are not comfortable with one opinion, get two so that you are comfortable.  I often got 2 opinions just so I could rest and be confident.

Hello eternslife,

My husband is also in treatment for EC. He has completed 25 radiation treatments and has done 2 chemo and has 1 more round of chemo. PET scan scheduled in July then if all is well surgery.  My understanding was the combo rad/chemo was the better option. The radiation shrink and the chemo to get the micro cells that can not be seen on the scans. It is hard to do both, the radiation burns tumor and he is having a hard time eating.

Look up treatment for EC and older blogs on this sight. Its hard to see all the suffering. The surviver stories are inspiring.

Prayers for a good outcome and speedy recovery.

My wife was diagnosed at Stage 3 with possible lymp node involvement.  A scope found that the tumor had also invaded her trachea, which made the tumor inoperable.

With surgery out of the equation, we were quite scared.  I will always remember talking to the radiational oncologist about this fear.  He smiled and said don't worry, I do this all the time and will do all I can to cure you.  And he did.  We bumped up the radiation treatment to the maximum of 39 treatments, modified the chemo treatment and here we are over 4.5 years post treatment with no evidence of disease.

I will add that if we had not been at the great hospital we were at, I do not think we would have had the same options.  Where you get your treatment is critical.  If you are not at a MAJOR cancer center, get to one.

Good luck,

Kevin

Hi ,

My husband saw the radiologist this past week, we were told he is not planning radiation, or a follow up at this time, I gather the primary tumour must have shrunk to warrant no intervention.. ie why give someone radiation, if they don't have to.. is my thought... Mark will see the oncologist on Tues and I will go with him to get the whole story...if no radiation then we have been told he must take just herceptin after the next round of chemo for a while... Mark is considered a stage iv, with mets to a few lymph nodes, his mass in the right rib was gone within a few days of the first round of chemo.. he is going to be starting his 6th round of chemo next Wed. He did develop a blood clot on his left lower leg and has to take a blood thinner for at least 6 months .

Any information on any EC  patients is appreciated.

PTL,

My husband 50, did Chemo only, started off well with Oxyplatum and Herceptin. stage IV liver from EC. It was good for the short-term but not enough in the long run.

Good to hear you are talking with the Radiologist directly. Also suggest you talk with the surgeon directly, do not rely on them talking without you. They have their specialities and you have to coordinate the use of them. 

Good luck, push hard. EC is tough.

My husband was diagnosed with cancer of the cervical of the esophagus.  This is after having a laryngectomy due to laryngeal cancer.  We were told that radiation/chemo was the way to go by the surgeon, radiologist and medical oncologist.  Now our local oncologist was against the chemo and felt only radiation.  But this is his second round of radiation basically in the same area as before and we are concerned about his cartoid arteries.  But we have also been told that surgery would be major and not without major complications due to all the radiation and throat reconstruction that was needed during his laryngectomy.

We were also told that chemo was needed during the radiation to help kill off cancer cells that weren't shown on the PET/CT scan.  Having been on many forums, each patient has a different treatment plan it seems.  And like everyone says, second opinions are needed.

Best wishes. 

Hi Jaycc,

Did he have trouble swallowing by the time he was diagnosed. How did you discover he had a serious illness and went for medical attention, unfortunately EC creeps up and is often diagnosed in the late stages... your husband was young like mine.. My husband is still able to eat , but slowly.. gets hiccups , we are told it is from the chemo and there is a drug to stop it. He is tired a lot now.. had done 6 rounds of chemo..I am tired just watching him struggle... I am so sorry for your loss... and do hope you will be able to find some peace from all of this nastiness.

Be well and stay strong...