Weight loss due to cancer treatment

Fit_mommy

Fit_mommy

Cathlete
Hi folks.

My very best friend's mom has bone cancer. Well, it began with breast cancer actually but she had a masectomy several years ago. Unfortunately there is a high risk of developing other types of cancers once you've had breast cancer even if they get you into remission. This is what happened to her.

Here's the thing. This woman has lost about 15-20 pounds over the course of a year I guess because of the treatments she has undergone. She was nowhere near heavy to begin with so she is now underweight. This will ofcourse affect her health and ability to fight her disease and stay strong through future treatments. My friend is looking for good information on how her mother can possibly gain back this weight slowly and safely. She is basically looking for a list of foods that are high calorie/nutrient-dense foods that her mom can consume in an effort to gain back the weight...or atleast as much of it as possible.

Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! A link to a good website would be awesome too!

TIA ladies!:)
 
Hi Melissa. Thanks for the links. I will check them out.

I googled as well prior to posting here but had focused my search on the food rather then the cancer and mostly came up with how to LOSE weight....
 
Wendy-Sorry to hear about your friend's mom.

My mom, who is currently undergoing chemo for kidney cancer (but is now in her lungs) has lost a ton of weight as well, and she looks very ill because of the weight loss alone. And because I dealth with this when DH was undergoing his chemo/radiation treatments, I'm helping my mom along here as much as possible.

First, there is a good book out there called "Eating thru Cancer" (or something very close to that title). It's broken down into chapters, and each chapter focusses on a different side effect. For instance, there is a chapter dealing with mouth sore, and it gives good recipes on how to eat well and at the same time, spare yourself the pain of eating with these sores. Check it out of your library...it's really pretty good.

Here are a few things that DH ate and/or drank, that my mom's doing:
...Ensure, Boost, or other nutrition drink
...ice cream, milkshakes, smoothies, sherbert
...pureed soups
...puddings, jellos, etc
...any kind of homemade (aka preservative and additive-free) baked good that can be dunked into hot tea, coffee, cocoa, etc. This was DH's FAVORITE of all
...and GIVE INTO ANY AND ALL CRAVINGS the patient has! LOL Seriously, at a time like this, the LAST thing she needs to worry about is watching her caloric intake. At one point in his radiation, DH craved CHINESE FOOD! lol We pretty much got him whatever he wanted! LOL

Good luck. Tell your friend to take care of herself while she helps her mom during this!

Gayle
 
Wendy - I don't have any specific advice but just want to give my support. My grandmother recently completed chemo and lost a lot of weight, and she's never really regained it.

Like Gayle said, keep enouraging her to eat anything she can. Her appetite sure won't be the best during this time, so I'd say anything that sounds good to her is the way to go.

You might also want to consider homemade broths or soups, which would be high in nutrients but easier to eat if she starts having trouble.
 
Gayle and Shannon:

Thank you so much for your insight on this. I will be passing everything on to my friend for her mom. I hope something works.

The woman has not been given a bad prognosis. Granted, bone cancer is incurable but she was told that she could live for many years with a quality of life that is well worth it if she keeps herself as strong as possible and her treatments work out the way that they should. She's already had the cancer for a few years now. She was doing quite well until recently....I hope she bounces back.
 
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