After Treatment for Esophageal Cancer

Getting emotional support

It’s normal to feel depressed, anxious, or worried when esophageal cancer is a part of your life. Some people are affected more than others. But everyone can benefit from help and support from other people, whether friends and family, religious groups, support groups, professional counselors, or others. Learn more in Life After Cancer.

Can I lower the risk of esophageal cancer progressing or coming back?

If you have (or have had) esophageal cancer, you probably want to know if there are things you can do (aside from your treatment) that might lower your risk of the cancer growing or coming back, such as getting or staying active, eating a certain type of diet, or taking nutritional supplements.

At this time, not enough is known about esophageal cancer to say for sure if there are things you can do that will help.

It’s clear that smoking and drinking alcohol are linked to an increased risk of esophageal cancer. Staying away from tobacco and alcohol might help lower your risk of the cancer progressing or coming back, and it can also help lower your risk of getting other smoking- and alcohol-related cancers.

Not smoking and avoiding alcohol can also help improve your appetite and overall health and help you tolerate some cancer treatments better.

If you need help quitting smoking, talk to your doctor or call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345.

Adopting other healthy behaviors such as eating well, getting regular physical activity, and staying at a healthy weight may help as well, but no one knows for sure. However, we do know that these types of changes can have positive effects on your health that can extend beyond your risk of cancer.

About dietary supplements

So far, no dietary supplements (including vitamins, minerals, and herbal products) have been shown to clearly help lower the risk of esophageal cancer progressing or coming back. This doesn’t mean that no supplements will help, but it’s important to know that none have been proven to do so.

Dietary supplements are not regulated like medicines in the United States. They do not have to be proven effective (or even safe) before being sold, although there are limits on what sellers are allowed to claim they can do. If you’re thinking about taking any type of nutritional supplement, talk to your health care team. They can help you decide which ones you can use safely while avoiding those that might be harmful.

If the cancer comes back

If the cancer does return at some point, your treatment options will depend on where the cancer is, what treatments you’ve had before, and your health and preferences.

Endoscopic treatments, surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, or some combination of these might be options. Other types of treatment might also be used to help relieve any symptoms from the cancer.

For more information on how recurrent cancer is treated, see Treating Esophageal cancer.

For more general information on recurrence, you may also want to see Understanding Recurrence.

Second cancers after treatment

Cancer survivors can be affected by many health problems, but often a major concern is facing cancer again. Cancer that comes back after treatment is called a recurrence. But some cancer survivors may develop a new, unrelated cancer later. This is called a second cancer.

Unfortunately, being treated for esophageal cancer doesn’t mean you can’t get another cancer. If you’ve had esophageal cancer, you can still get the same types of cancers that other people get. In fact, you might be at a higher risk of certain types of cancer, including:

• Cancers of the mouth and throat
• Cancer of the larynx (voice box)
• Lung cancer
• Thyroid cancer
• Small intestine cancer

Men who were treated for esophageal cancer also have an increased risk of stomach cancer.

For people who have had esophageal cancer, most experts don’t recommend any additional testing to look for second cancers unless you have symptoms. People who have been treated for esophageal cancer and have no signs of recurrence, but who smoke, may want to talk with their doctor about if they should be screened for lung cancer.

Can I lower my risk of getting a second cancer?

There are steps you can take to lower your cancer risk and stay as healthy as possible. For example, the most common risk factors for cancer of the esophagus are smoking and alcohol intake, which are also linked to many of the second cancers listed above. Staying away from tobacco products and avoiding or limiting alcohol may help lower your risk of several types of cancer.

To help maintain good health, esophageal cancer survivors should:

• Avoid tobacco products, or get help quitting if you need it.
• Get to and stay at a healthy weight.
• Keep physically active and limit sitting or lying down time.
• Follow a healthy eating pattern that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and that limits or avoids red and processed meats, sugary drinks, and highly processed foods.
• It’s best not to drink alcohol. If you do drink, have no more than 1 drink per day for women or 2 drinks per day for men.

These steps may also lower the risk of some other health problems.

Survivors of esophageal cancer should also follow the American Cancer Society guidelines for the early detection of cancer, such as those for breast, cervical, lung, and prostate cancer.

See Second Cancers in Adults for more information about causes of second cancers.