subject: Esophageal Cancer Stage 4 Treatment [print this page] In esophageal cancer, there are four stages of cancer spreading. The last or final stage is the fourth stage which cannot be cured or recovered by medical treatment. There are no chances of survival for the patients in the final stage of the esophageal cancer. This is because the cancer spreads to all cells, lymph nodes and other organs nearby in the patients body in this stage.
The treatment for the esophageal cancer in the final (fourth stage) will not help in recovery or increase in the chances of survival rate for the patients. Though it is so, the treatment is done for the temporary relief of the patient. There are currently no standard curative therapies for the treatment of final stage esophageal cancer. The specific treatment can result in short term benefit and can improve the nutrient intake.
The optimal results can be obtained by the following ways of treatment such as palliative surgery, chemotherapy, photo dynamic treatment, thermal laser treatment, esophageal dilation, esophageal stent etc.
The palliative surgery is a surgery which offers only relief of symptoms and is not a cure. The patients in the fourth stage of esophageal cancer will often have wide spread cancer at the time of diagnosis. There is also a controversy over how to treat in best way the patients who cannot undergo surgery with curative intent.
In a study, the doctors compared the outcomes of 39 patients in final stage that underwent an esophagectomy for palliation with outcome of 49 patients who underwent more complete removal of cancer. After 9 months, the patients in the palliative group experienced more pain and a poorer quality of life when compared to others.
The single chemotherapy drugs such as platinol (cisplatin), fluorouracil, mutamycin (mitomycin), ellence (epirubicin), Doxil (doxorubicin) may result in inactive state of the disease in the patients with esophageal cancer. The overall response rate for these combination regimens is approximately 40 percent and the survival rate is 8 to 10 months. Other agents that are being evaluated are camptosar and gemzar.
Photo dynamic treatment is a type of laser treatment which involves injecting photo sensitizing chemicals into blood stream. The chemicals are absorbed by all the cells in the body. These chemicals stay longer in the cancerous cells than in the healthy cells. At this time the laser light will directly focus on the tumor. The cells will absorb the light and thus the cancer cells are destroyed by chemical reaction.
The thermal laser treatment is done using the endoscopy procedure which allows the doctors to view inside the esophagus and to insert the instruments which may provide temporary relief of dysphagia. Laser ablation also helps in treating polypoid cancers which grows in the esophagus and causes blockage.
Narrowing of the esophagus may be due to the recurrent cancer or treatment related strictures. The relief of this constriction done by dilation can improve swallowing temporarily. During esophageal dilation, the flexible dilators are passed through the patients mouth with Endoscopic guidance. The esophageal stent (rigid tubes) is also used to keep the esophagus open.
Natural Remedies:
There are certain natural remedies that offer a promising cure for esophageal cancer. Along with the natural remedies and a well-researched different diet pattern, a few simple adjustments to your lifestyle can make a huge difference to your efforts for prolonging the life for several years. You can increase your chances of surviving esophagus cancer now by trying these proven natural remedies discussed in http://cancernaturalremedies.com
by: Ian Eallard
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