How does a person maintain weight during chemotherapy?

Question

My buddy started chemo treatment 5 months ago for stage-A pancreas cancer. He has lost a lot of weight. I need answers from those who had similar experience or knew someone who had. Thanks!

Answer 1

Maintaining a patient's weight is difficult enough with cancer wherein the patient is in sort of a catabolic state specially pancreatic cancer. Add to the dilema chemotherapy with its after effects of nausea, vomiting, anorexia, et al. What your friend can do is ask his doctor or consult a dietician as to how your buddy can improve his nutritional status and maybe get some suppliments or even enteral nutrition. He can also take commercially available products from a long list like as was Sustagen, Ensure Plus, etc that may help. They come in different flavors to suit your friends palate. But better still to ask his doctor or a dietician so that they can compute how much of the drink your friend needs on a daily basis. If your friend does not gain weight with oral intake or if he continues to get malnourished, then he might have to be brought to the hospital for parenteral nutrition which is given through an IV line and later even have the IV feeding at home or have a tube inserted into his stomach or small intestines (PEG tube or gstrostomy tube or jejunostomy tube) and given enteral feeding through the tube.

You can check this site for some information regarding enteral nutrition which includes a list of products available. www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202673.html

Answer 2

PLEASE STOP ALL THE CHEMO THERAPY AND DOCTOR RECOMMENDED MEDICINES RIGHT AWAY. Doctors dont want you to know of the alternative medicines that can actually CURE CANCER. If a doctor tells you the alternative medicines, they will be out of a job. How much does it cost for chemo therapy each time you take in those chemicals? This medicine is better and only $75 dollars a bottle. Each bottle lasts a month. You take an ounce per day, and after each dose, you eat a banana or eat potatoes. its called "CESIUM CHLORIDE."
The problem with chemo therapy is that they always say that they never know how each person will be affected by the chemicals. You could die the next day, or you can die in a month. BUT, you cannot live past 2 years. So, its not a good garauntee that you will extend your life for 2 years. The reason is because chemo therapy is a toxin. A poison that kills your body. And if it kills the cancers before it kills you then you are cured. And if the cancer dies before you die, you probably wont live past 5 years. Because even after the cancer is killed, your body is completely deteriorated. I bet you cannot ask 100 people who knew someone who went to chemo therapy and lived more then 5 years after defeating cancer. You might get lucky and find like 2 people. What are your chances that you will be that 2 lucky people that live? So, how good of a cure can chemo therapy be?
The key to defeating cancer is all over the net. But the people who sell these alternatives cannot say on their labels that their medicines cure cancer. It is against FDA rules. The reason is because if this is done, then doctors, hospitals, and pharmaceautical companies cannot make any money. So, according to FDA, it has to be stated on the bottles that it is for vitamins only, etc etc.
You can go find these medicines and take care of your cancers in 3 to 12 months. Just listen to me as I dont make anything off of this. I am only here to help. I am sick of these doctors and big companies making money off dyng people. Doctors wont tell you either. Its against their rules. Well, gee, they were ones who created these rules, so go figure. I believe there were like alot of medicines that take care of cancers. There is a top 10 list somewhere. I think cesium chloride is listed number 1 or 2 on the list.
I found a good bottle of this on www.nutrition2000.com. I think this was the address. You can always search the internet. Get the one that contains rubidium (I think this is how it is spelt). This helps your body absorb the medicine. Good luck my friend. And please pass this information to everybody you know that needs it.

Answer 3

It's hard to maintain weight during chemo b/c of the nausea/vomiting, anorexia and general loss of appetite that these people endure. Supplemental shakes such as boost or ensure can provide calories if solid food cannot be eaten. Small, frequent meals, usually of soft bland food such as pudding, mashed potatoes may be tolerable. If a persons weight drops too low, their doctor will probably admit them to the hospital for parenteral nutrition which is intravenous nutrition (TPN and Lipids). If the MD decides it is necessary to continue this once the patient is discharged, they can infuse this at home as well, until they are able to eat enough on their own. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

At any pharmacy you can buy high calorie diet suplements. These are good for chemo patients as they help to maintain weight but also have esential vitamins and nutrients. Some names are sustagen, ensure and jevity.

Chemo is hard in the body he needs to eats as regularly as he can and eat what he can. Plenty of rest and support from friends like yourself. Good luck

Answer 5

My husband was told that one of his chemo meds (I can't remember which one as it has been nearly 10 years) would cause his metabolism to greatly! increase. He was told to eat as much red meat as he wanted inorder to help maintain a healthy weight. While he still lost weight he was able to continue looking relatively healthy during treatment.

Answer 6

sorry my friend it is an unfortunate sideeffect of the treatment. both my bro & sis lost a lot of weight, but once treatment stops it will return but only very slowly. you kinda lose your appetite for a long time!!

Answer 7

i became into obese when I have been given pregnant (and have PCOS). I undergo in innovations being relatively scared approximately gaining yet another 25-35 pounds as 'popular' pregnant women persons do -- yet became into fortunate to artwork with a superb OB/GYN who dealt with a lot of obese women persons, and reassured me that i would not be gaining that a lot weight - and that i went to a nutritionist as nicely. seems, with me ingesting extra healthy and exercising extra, I lost weight in the direction of the beginning up portion of my being pregnant (relatively widely used on account that in the previous i became into ingesting a lot of junkfood) - and became into under the care of my popular wellbeing practitioner and my OB/GYN so each little thing became into being monitored heavily. So via the top of my being pregnant I had a great thing approximately 5 pounds, with toddler being completely healthful and in basic terms over 8 pounds. The day after he became into born, i became into down 13 pounds. Now, on the time my PCOS wasn't clinically determined; via some miracle I have been given pregnant 2 years as quickly as we've been given married; had my son whilst i became into 30. in spite of the incontrovertible fact that, wasn't waiting to get pregnant lower back. I went on metformin in my previous due 30s to get my classes lower back often. wish you success, and toddler airborne dirt and dirt!!!

Answer 8

protein powder like sustagen powder