My father in-law had an esophagectomy Nov 05. He never had to have chemo or radiation. Did have a complication of developing a hole in the trachea which was fixed. He was in Brigham and Womens for 80 days. He came home and was doing very well over the summer. The coughing and mucous has been a problem. It interferes with his sleep and therefore he seems to be always exhausted. He does have asthma and uses a nebulizer. He had an edoscopy in Oct and everything looked great. The last 4-6 weeks He has been having a problem keeping food down and has had some belly pain and has lost about 15-20 lbs. On Jan 2nd he summoned his children to tell them he is dying and does not want any intervention. In his mind the cancer is back. We - the family does not know what to think. I am not sure....could the cancer come back that quick? Is the coughing causing him to not keep his food down? Also, when he came home from the hospital he was on an antidepressant and is not now. We are all worried that he might be prematurely throwing in the towel due to exhaustion, maybe depression.....who would not be depressed. Up until this he was a very young 75 year old. My mother in-law is a retired nurse and has felt that she has been pushing him and now seems to be backing off. I am looking for anything that might help. This is so emotional on everyone.