Weight loss injections / chemo weight gain

Dear AuroraHunter

Thanks for getting in touch with us and welcome to our online community. I can see you are also a member of our anal cancer group and hope you find it a helpful and supportive way to communicate with others. My name is Joanne and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialist’s on the  Macmillan Support Line. 

I’m sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with a recurrence of your anal cancer. This must be difficult to process, especially after the positive results of your surgery last year.  It’s common to feel a lack of control, especially when you don’t yet know exactly what your treatment plan will be.

You ask about Mounjaro injections and chemotherapy. These injections are relatively new and there has been very little research into the effect Mounjaro may have on your chemotherapy treatments. For this reason, your oncologist is likely to ask you to stop using the injections. Here on the support line, we can’t access medical records so are only able to give general information. Your oncology team should be able to give clear advice on when to stop the injections and when you may be able to start them again in the future.   

Steroids are often used alongside chemotherapy. The dose varies dependant on the chemotherapy regime you are having. One of the side effects is increased appetite which can lead to weight gain. I can only imagine how difficult this prospect must be when you have worked so hard to lose weight. Talk to your specialist team about your concerns. They may be able to refer you to the dietician for support in maintaining your weight whilst on chemotherapy

I hope you managed to ask these questions at today’s oncology appointment. Often people have questions that arise after their appointment, and I wonder if you might benefit from giving our support line a call. We often find we can explain our answers in a bit more detail over the phone, giving you the opportunity to ask more questions if needed. It can be very overwhelming not knowing how things might affect you moving forward. And although we can’t tell you exactly what to expect, we can help explain what usually happens for most people in a similar situation.

Best wishes

Joanne, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.

Ref/ JF/FH

Thank you Joanne. I took a few days offline after my appointment. 

The appointment was really good and I had a lovely registrar. I can actually remain on the Mounjaro injections as they feel the anti emetics do a similar job of delayed gastric emptying and so they will not affect the chemo. 

Obviously I will stop them if I find side effects too much or there is any interaction.