Appetite Help Please

[Gardenfairy1]

Hi I am currently undergoing chemotherapy for adenocarcinoma (surgery not an option) final round is 8th May then onto immunotherapy. I have lost a lot of weight which I am keen to put back on, however I struggle to find anything other than cereal and soup appetising/edible. Any suggestions welcome please 🙂

[AnnW1]

Hi. My mum lost her appetite during chemo luckily kept her weight stable due to eating what she fancied when she felt, not really eating full meals with a bit of snacking when hungry. We made fruit tea loafs as full of calories and mum enjoyed these. She also had supplement drinks prescribed by the hospital , full of all the nutrients needed. Hope this helps and best of luck with the rest of your treatment! Mum had treatment for sclc stage3 in 2016 with no further treatment and is stable

[21_er]

I have the same problem I find difficulty swollowing I have managed to increase my weight slightly over the last couple of weeks by eating small amounts at least 4times a day and add cream to my porridge and soup good luck hope this helps

[Ellejayb]

I have been suffering from loss of appetite for several months. I have ignored all convention of attempting three meals a day. It’s a little of what I fancy whenever I fancy it. I graze through the day on a strange selection of food but it’s getting me back to normal. If I can face eating it (or even fancy eating it), then I do. I also drink a lot of fresh smoothies. I think it your appetite will even out when you go in immunotherapy.

[Denzie]

I ate ice cream in the evenings, called it ice cream therapy.

[Paristomasmicheal]

my husband tried everything but now ensure with ice cream and milkshake, even I’m tempted 😂

[Keepingstrong]

My husband who has stage 4 nsclc has not been doing any chemo but has been struggling to eat as he gets nausea alot. His doctor has put him on a low dose prednisone and it has done wonders for his appetite. He also had a hard time getting past the traditional 3 meals a day and now eats anything he can tolerate through the day. He had mac and cheese for breakfast this morning. He is also anaemic and his absorption is low and gets dehydrated easily. His doctor gives him vitamin IV therapy (Myers cocktail) once to twice a week and it makes him feel so much better and helps with his energy. We have been dealing with this over a year. The oncologist only gave him 4 - 6 months without treatment. We try to get out everday to walk which I find helps with his appetite. I also make him homemade healthy protein smoothies that he enjoys, especially the ones that taste like chocolate. He has a heart issue that prevents him from getting treatment. So far we have been doing alternative natural treatments and he is doing okay. His C-Reacive Protein has dropped from 127 to 45 and the anaemia seems to be getting better. We have a long ways to go as he lost a lot of weight at the beginning and lost a significant amount of muscle mass. One day at a time.

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi Gardenfairy1

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear you are having treatment for lung cancer.

There have been some great replies from those who have experienced this and we often advise, small and frequent snacking with high calorie/fat content.

You may find this link from Macmillan support useful in providing some advice on building up diet: macmillan.org.uk/cancer-inf...

This is our link to our information booklets, including the different treatments and living with lung cancer: roycastle.org/help-and-supp...

This link takes you to our support services from one to one support to online group support, you can register through this link: roycastle.org/help-and-supp...

If you would like to discuss anything 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

All the very best

The Roy Castle Support Team

[JanetteR57]

It can be tough - taste is affected by the condition and treatments. swallowing and chewing can take a lot of effort for those short of breath. anxiety can also impact appetite.

Have a look at this information - there are ways of loading calories into food - greek yoghurt, olive oil, smoothies/home made soups, porridge with honey can all be nutritious ways of having lots of goodness/vitamins without the need to eat a heavy meal which can often feel overwhelming. Little and often is often better tolerated - but protein is needed for energy - so if everything is sugar laden that may add to fatigue.

roycastle.org/about-lung-ca...

good luck.

[Boo_Radley]

Try getting an appointment with a dietician, I found them to be really helpful with their suggestions about getting extra calories on board. They may also be able to prescribe you some complete nutritional drinks when you don't feel like eating much. Little and often is the way to do it, I've managed to put on weight - but I think the steroids they prescribed to cope with permexetred helped. And eat what you fancy - usual rules do not apply! Keep going, because it is a battle you will win.

[Eglingham]

Hi, I found milk shakes made with mainly ice-cream helpful, my favourite a whole banana, good quality ice cream, a little full fat milk and some cinnamon 😋 jelly and tinned fruit was also nice. Hope you get sorted 🤞 x

[Calmrain]

Hi. I was the same and lost 12kg in a month of doing radiotherapy. I found cold rice pudding helped my throat and I bought the one with fresh cream in to up my calories. This is a temporary stage in your treatment. You will start to eat more and more. When you start immunotherapy your appetite should return. Hope all goes well. Good luck on your journey.

[Leniko]

maybe some fruit cups, applesauce , peanut butter. It’s a real challenge. My tastes change constantly.