Hello Anon191

I'm sorry to hear about your Mum's diagnosis and that they are not able to operate. I'm sure it's been a difficult time for you all but it's good to know she has done well with the NG tube and that the possibility of having a stent fitted has been discussed. 

I'm unsure if we've any members here who have a stent in place. Hopefully if we do they will post to share their experiences with you. We do have a little bit of information on our website here but you're welcome to call our nurses for some more advice and information. They're available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm on 0808 800 4040. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator 

Hi, so sorry to hear about your mum. My husband also has oesophageal cancer and lung cancer, so I can truly sympathise. My husband had a stent fitted after diagnosis in august, as his tumour was 10cm and he was struggling to eat. He was very uncomfortable for a few days (the first 72 hours are painful) but now he can eat most things. Can't manage anything remotely stodgy, like bread, cakes etc. But eats soft foods easily. Sometimes food can get a bit stuck, but he finds a fizzy drink soon sorts that out.he can manage most things that are covered in gravy or sauce. One thing he wishes they'd told him before hand is that you can't lie flat at all after having a stent inserted, as your stomach contents come straight back up! He has to sleep propped up and if he shimmies down while he's asleep, he wakes abruptly with a mouthful of stomach contents! (Sorry... bit gross) I guess it's a small price to pay to be able to eat again, and having lost a stone since diagnosis, he's finally put on 4lbs, despite being on chemo. Quite an achievement. Feel free to ask any questions, happy to help if i can. Much love to you and your mum x 

Hi, thank you for your reply and your kind words, I really appreciate it. Sorry to hear your husband has the same cancers, it really is a horrible disease :( . That's great that he has managed to put on some weight since having the stent. Was the stent fitted under general anaesthetic? Aw gosh not very nice that food can come back up but thank you for letting me know about sitting up and fizzy drinks. My mums due to start a new type of chemo tomorrow and is transferring over to a different hospital so hoping the stent may still be an option. Despite all the news she has received, the issue of not being able to eat is upsetting her the most. Sending my love to you and your husband too x 

Hi, no problem, it's nice to be able to offer some advice and reassurance to someone in the same situation. Pete had his stent fitted with sedation, but doesn't really remember anything about it until he woke up. It's nice to be able to eat again, even if it's small amounts. We are just trying to keep his calorie intake high to get that fat on him. 
Pete is nearly at the end of 6 cycles of EOX chemotherapy, and at the halfway point scans the tumour had started shrinking, so we are keeping everything crossed that he's still responding well at next scans in January, then they may see about further treatment. Originally we were given a terminal diagnosis, but we are praying daily for our miracle. We have young children and the fight in pete is phenomenal. 
wishing all the best to you and your mum, feel free to ask anything, really am happy to help, you are not alone xxx 

Hi FizzJaney, I was just wondering if you were still on this chat. Really hope all is OK with your family at the moment xx 

Hi there! 
well... it's been a rough ride. Pete finished all chemo in January and seemed to be doing really well. Problem was that we didn't get a scan, and had minimal input from his medical team. I ended up having to complain to pals etc to get him seen. Unfortunately in the last month he's declined rapidly and hasn't really eaten for the last month. :( he's on a massive amount of pain killers and sleeps the majority of the time. Emergency scan was ordered 8 weeks ago, with thought of possible radiotherapy... but no scan came through. More complaints made yesterday and they managed to scan him today!! My thoughts are that the cancer has most likely spread, and there will be nothing they can do as it will be too late. My husband is in denial on how ill he actually is (I am unfortunately a nurse, so can see the signs all too clearly that he is end of life) Macmillan nurses are coming tomorrow to try and help worth symotom control, as he is still experiencing a lot of pain, despite a lot of morphine. 
It's very difficult at the moment to be honest. 
thank you for asking after me... and sorry this has been a bit of a depressing post! X

Hello, gosh it does sound like it's been a rough ride for you and your husband. I'm sorry to hear you've had to battle to try and get scans for your husband too. We also feel that if things were handled differently/quicker my mum would be in a very different position now too. I really hope that the macmillan nurses coming out to you tomorrow goes OK and they are able to provide more help with symptom control. It must be difficult for you as a nurse to be able to see the signs too. Please don't apologise!

I was going to ask about when your husband had the stent fitted as my mum is having one next week and really is terrified. She's has endoscopy and NG tube fitted so sort of knows what is coming and is so scared. I can see from when we spoke before you said your husband was sedated? Was it heavy sedation? I really pray my mum won't be aware of what's going on but they have said they can't guarantee it. I completely understand if you don't reply you have so much going on right now, sending love to you and your family. X 

No problem, happy to help. 
Pete was definitely sedated and didn't know a thing until he woke up. I will warn you tho that it's quite painful afterwards. He had a panic attack that evening because he lay down and felt he couldn't breathe. It feels like a heart attack as it expands (they warn you of this before you leave the hospital) it's uncomfortable for about 3 days , then was fine, so just make sure you have pain relief in place, and try not to panic x hope all goes well for your mum. Happy to help with any quiestions x 

Thank you. That's really good to know he didn't know anything until he woke up. Can you remember how long roughly the procedure took? I think I've seen on this website that it takes about 30 minutes? 

Oh that's scary but good to know beforehand so that we can expect it. Thank you xx 

Think the procedure itself is about 30 minutes, but he was in hospital about 4 or 6 hours as you have to stay in recovery for a while. He was definitely in and out the same day tho. Xx