Palliative treatment helps improve people’s quality of life by managing the symptoms of cancer without trying to cure the disease. It is best thought of as supportive care. Many people think palliative care is
only for people at the end of life, but it can help at any stage of advanced oesophageal cancer.
Treatments will be tailored to your individual needs. For example, radiation therapy can relieve pain and
make swallowing easier by helping to shrink a tumour that is blocking the oesophagus. Palliative treatments can also slow the spread of the cancer.
For more on this, see Palliative care, Living with advanced cancer and listen to the podcast below.
Having a stent
People with advanced oesophageal cancer who have trouble swallowing and do not have any other
treatment options may have a flexible tube (called a stent) inserted into the oesophagus during an
endoscopy.
The stent expands the oesophagus so that fluid and soft food can pass into the stomach more easily.
It also can prevent food and saliva going into the lungs and causing infection. The stent does not
treat the cancer but will allow you to eat and drink more normally, although there may be some
foods you are no longer able to eat.
→ READ MORE: Managing side effects of oesophageal cancer
Video: What is palliative care?
Watch this short video to learn more about palliative care.
Podcast: Treatment Options for Advanced Cancer
Listen to more of our podcast for people affected by advanced cancer
Prof David Watson, Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Flinders University, and Senior Consultant Surgeon, Oesophago-Gastric Surgery Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Prof Bryan Burmeister, Senior Radiation Oncologist, GenesisCare Fraser Coast and Hervey Bay Hospital, QLD; Dr Natalie Collier, Radiation Oncologist, Wollongong Hospital, NSW; A/Prof Melissa Eastgate, A/Executive Director, Cancer Care Services, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Natalie Lalor, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Victoria; Chris Menzies, Upper GI Cancer Nurse Consultant, Flinders Medical Centre and Southern Adelaide Local Health Network, SA; Tammy Milne, Consumer; Stefanie Simnadis, Clinical Dietitian, St John of God Subiaco Hospital, WA; Prof Rajvinder Singh, Professor of Medicine, University of Adelaide, and Director, Gastroenterology Department and Head of Endoscopy, Lyell McEwin Hospital, SA.
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