Nelie,
I had regular radiation at MD Anderson, and once I could begin to swallow again...stuff got stuck further down. At first they seemed to have misdiagnosed it at MDACC. Then during one of my barium swallow studies, they took the X-ray a little further down and observed the stricture in my espohagus. Once they finally figured that out, I went in for the dilation, which, as described above was no big deal. I had it 2 or 3 times, and then one of gastro-entero. docs (who, by coincidence had been a previous doc of mine for some stomach problems before he and I came to MD Anderson) sent me for another barium swallow test rather than dilating again. It showed all clear. This has been a couple of years now and I have had no more problems whatsoever with my esophagus.

Also, interestingly enough, just last summer I realized that I could swallow a whole lot better than I thought I could. I used to travel with several quarts of my favorite soup and numerous bottles of Boost. Eating regular food was so tedious and unrewarding that I would hardly bother. But then something happened...I don't know if it was that I physically improved and adapted, or just got determined to do it...but suddenly I could eat bread, pizza, steaks, hamburgers, and even popcorn, as long as I have water to wash it down.

Believe me...this improvement has made me so much more free and has made life so much easier and better. I can now travel freely, and sit down to lunch or dinner with people who are not aware of the cancer and eat almost like a normal person.

Best of luck with the dilation..

Danny G.