Auxiliary chemoradiotherapy after esophageal cancer surgery is crucial

My father is 66 years old. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in early July last year. The tumor was located in the middle part of the esophagus. He underwent radical surgery at the county hospital. The pathology report showed ulcerative squamous cell carcinoma.

However, after resection, it was found that the tumor had invaded the deep muscle layer, and suspected cancer thrombi were found in the blood vessels. No cancer was found in the resection margins on both sides and the partial resection margins sent for examination. No cancer metastasis was found in the resected lymph nodes, and the lesser curvature lymph nodes sent for examination were fibrofatty tissue. Preoperative CT showed that lymph node metastasis might be found in the left subclavian area.

Regarding this surgical treatment, the doctor said that it basically achieved the expected effect, but it should be supplemented with radiotherapy about one month or one and a half months after my father's body recovers. The radiotherapy should last about 45 days, followed by a one-month rest, and then four courses of chemotherapy.

After the surgery, my father, who was originally strong, became much thinner. I also saw on TV that many cancer patients who had undergone radiotherapy and chemotherapy developed symptoms such as hair loss, bad habits, and vomiting during the treatment. This made me feel unsure whether my father could tolerate radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

So I consulted the doctor of the oncology department of a tertiary hospital about this situation. After listening to my statement, the doctor told me that the treatment plan formulated by the doctors of the county hospital for my father was correct, and in principle, it could be started one month after the operation, and the radiotherapy and chemotherapy plans of various hospitals were basically the same, so there was no need to worry too much. In view of my father's poor health, he could consider taking some Chinese medicine during the radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Only then did I feel relieved and actively raised funds to cope with the next step of treatment.