Weight loss

[Brianderrick12]

Hi everybody- hope you’ve all had a good weekend. We had the appointment with my brothers oncologist- he’s a lovely man. We have a lot of drugs to combat the cough - mainly steroids & a codeine linctus. Fingers crossed it works. Unfortunately his cancer is showing extensive spread to his right lung but on the positive side it’s contained within the lungs . Inbetween one chemotherapy & the next he’s lost 5 kilos in weight - that’s only 3 weeks . He’s booked in for a scan in early July to see how he’s responding to his treatment . Thankyou as usual for all your support - my nerves are shot but I don’t let it show. Xxx

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hello Brianderrick,

Poor appetite and weight loss can be very common for anyone with a cancer diagnosis, cancer treatment not only decreases appetite, but you may become full more quickly when eating. A few tips may help you boost your calories when you don’t feel particularly hungry.

It is generally advocated for a healthy balanced diet, but in reality when you have a cancer diagnosis eating can feel really uncomfortable and large meals may feel too much. Sometimes it is better to have small mouthfuls of anything appetising this can be easier to tolerate rather than larger heavy meals.

Little and often is often easier to manage. Eat small portions frequently instead of 3 large meals daily.

Trying different foods to stimulate the taste buds can sometimes be enjoyable too, whether that’s delicate fruits, or puddings or little tasty savoury bites.

There is a web site called life kitchen, it is a not for profit cookery site that was developed for people with loss of appetite or altered taste due to cancer or covid, they have a free Taste and Flavour cookery book which you can download.

lifekitchen.co.uk/

Macmillan also have a booklet which you can download called the building up diet be.macmillan.org.uk/be/p-25...

Meal supplements such as ensure drinks can also be useful they need to be used alongside a normal diet and not used as a meal replacement.

I have listed some other things below which also might help with your eating

Light exercise can actually often stimulate the appetite.

Eat nutritious snacks that are high in calories and protein: Good choices include nuts, cheese and crackers, ice cream, peanut butter, and puddings.

Have food on hand that you enjoy and is easy to prepare.

Find foods that are comfortable to eat if you have mouth sores or taste changes

Drink fluids between meals to avoid becoming full too fast

Fatigue is a big factor for many cancer survivors when it comes to cooking: Accept your loved one’s willingness to bring meals, freeze leftovers for another meal, and ask your friends if they would mind preparing meals ahead of time that you can freeze for a quick dinner.

Eat whenever you feel hungry, day or night

Try different foods: Sometimes a change in routine can make food more “interesting” and tempting

Eat with friends or family: Cancer can feel very isolating, and the social setting of eating with others may indirectly help with appetite.

There are supplement drinks and soups such as Ensure, these should be used alongside meals and try not to replace meals with these

You can also ask your CNS or Gp to refer you to a dietician who can give you advice on diet and taking supplements during and after treatment

If there is anything else you would like to discuss you can email ask the nurse at [e-mail] or call our free phone nurse led helpline number on 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600

Kind regards

Roy Castle Support Team