Questions in the Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Forum have been answered by Dr. Kevin Pho who is board certified in Internal Medicine and by doctors from Henry Ford Health System.

Question Title: esophageal cancer and dementia

Forum: The Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Forum
Topic: Esophageal Cancer


my father has esophageal cancer. tumor in esophages to the beginning of stomach. enlarged lymph nodes by pancreas have not been determined cancerous yet. surgery to remove tumor is scheduled for thursday. I AM TOLD THAT MY FATHERS POOR MEMORY WILL HINDER THE 'RECOVERY PROCESS' I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY/HOW THIS IS SO. he is 75 years old and from what i have read the surgery is not a cure just to enable him to go on till whenever. his esphagaes is just about closed right now.

thank you, mrs bells

____

Dear Mrs. Bells,
I hope that your father’s recovery from surgery is quick and uneventful. I am uncertain why the physician felt that your father’s poor memory will hinder the recovery. I can only guess at the intent of the comment. I wonder if the surgeon meant that your father’s poor memory may not allow him to cooperate fully with the post operative team e.g. the nurses and respiratory therapists who will care for him. A second interpretation is that the physician was trying to say that he does not have the recovery capacity of a younger man and that the postoperative course could be rocky.

This response is offered for your general information and should not replace the conclusions drawn from a careful and complete evaluation by a physician.

HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: esophageal cancer
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