What to do if an elderly person has esophageal cancer

What should I do if an elderly person has esophageal cancer? How can an elderly person in his 70s or 80s be treated without pain? Considering the elderly are old, what should I do if they cannot bear the pain of surgery like the traditional treatment for esophageal cancer?

1. Surgical treatment. The most direct method is surgical treatment. Patients with early esophageal cancer can be cured through surgery. However, some patients in the middle and late stages cannot be cured through surgery. Other relief methods must be adopted. I hope everyone can understand.

2. Radiotherapy. Radiotherapy is an important means of adjuvant treatment before and after surgery, or when surgery is not suitable. Using radiation to reduce the size of the tumor before surgery and to eliminate residual cancer cells after surgery is of great help to the effect of surgery. When surgery is not suitable, radiotherapy is a major option to replace surgery. However, radiotherapy is also very harmful to other organs. Now there are some new technologies, especially radiotherapy technologies that aim to reduce damage to the heart, which can more effectively enhance the effect of radiotherapy while reducing side effects.

3. Chemotherapy. The main purpose of chemotherapy is to create opportunities for subsequent surgery and alleviate the progression of the disease. Chemotherapy also has certain side effects, but these side effects can be improved through some drugs.

4. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine has always been an important method for treating cancer. It avoids the side effects and physical trauma caused by surgery or Western medicine. It achieves the purpose of limiting by improving one's own resistance and fighting against cancer. This is a good way. It can also be used together with Western medicine treatment.

5. New treatment methods. Photodynamic therapy: Use new photosensitizers and endoscopes as a treatment method after first-line treatment. Molecular therapy: Studies have shown that survivin can strongly inhibit the growth of esophageal cancer cells. This can prove that survivin is likely to be a new breakthrough in the treatment of esophageal cancer.

I am afraid that my body cannot bear the surgery. Generally, when the elderly are diagnosed with esophageal cancer, they are already very thin and weak. Because esophageal cancer is usually in the middle and late stages when it is discovered, and metastasis has occurred, the elderly with esophageal cancer are also suitable for surgery at this time. So is there any painless treatment for elderly people diagnosed with esophageal cancer?

When young people have esophageal cancer, hospitals generally recommend surgical treatment first, supplemented by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This is the conventional treatment method, and it is also relatively fast and effective in treating esophageal cancer. However, for elderly patients with esophageal cancer, esophageal cancer should be treated conservatively.

One of the reasons is that surgery is very traumatic and can damage the body's vitality. The elderly are weak and cannot eat well after surgery, which causes their body's immunity to drop rapidly, making it difficult for them to resist remaining cancer cells, which will lead to a rapid relapse.

The second reason is that the elderly’s bodies will definitely not be able to withstand radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which have great side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, hair loss, and a rapid decrease in white blood cells.

At present, the traditional Chinese medicine treatment technology for esophageal cancer has also begun to mature. There are many different options, and some of them are purified Chinese medicines with significant efficacy, which can effectively control the development and spread of esophageal cancer tumors and reduce the recurrence and metastasis of tumors. Therefore, for elderly patients with esophageal cancer, it is better to treat them through traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine is relatively mild and has no side effects. Patients are generally acceptable, and most cancer patients can generally relieve pain, prolong life, and improve the quality of life by taking traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese and Western medicine have their own strengths in treating tumors. Therefore, the treatment of esophageal cancer must give full play to the respective advantages of Chinese and Western medicine, adhere to long-term treatment, relax the patient's psychological state, do a good job of psychological treatment, increase dietary nutrition, and improve the body's immune function. In this way, better results can be achieved.