Is it normal for albumen levels to drop while suffering from gullet cancer?
Patient: My mother has advanced gullet cancer and has lost her appetite completly. She is refusing all foods, only living on iced water. Her albumen levels are very low, this surely isn't a good sign. How long can she survive without eating or is this just the natural way the body copes with terminal cancer? Doctor: Hello! I have read your concerns and feel sorry for your mother.  Gullet/esophageal cancer's primary problem will be nutrition. A patient with advanced cancer of this type usually has poor nutrition, since he/she is unable to tolerate food intake.  A low albumin count only confirms that she is poorly nourished, with this status, most patients succumb to infection due to very low immune system.  No patient can survive without eating, the time frame varies on how her body will cope with the stress.  If I was the treating physician, I will offer options for alternative route for feeding (tube feeding, intravenous/parenteral feeding, placement of stent), to boost her immune system through nutrition.