I'm caring for my mum at the moment who has cancer of the womb. I've moved back home to live with her as she couldn't manage on her own. She is 73 and has other health issues (heart failure) which means she is quite frail. She has recently had cycle 2 of her chemo and she has no appetite, is feeling quite nauseous and does not fancy anything to eat. She's literally eating a few mouthfuls of food a day. Today she's just had a kit kat. I go up and see her every hour / 30 mins and suggest things to eat/drink but mostly she doesn't feel like it. Over the past few weeks she's just getting weaker and weaker, it's awful to see. The acute oncology service nurses have just said keep encouraging her to drink, that's the main thing. And to keep taking the anti sickness meds. I'm just so worried she's wasting away, I feel so helpless.
Hi ,
Sorry to hear about your mum and her problems with appetite. When Janice was on chemotherapy her taste was all over the place and several times she was sick and it can make eating both difficult and in some ways frightening. Some people suggest ginger sweets can help with some of the strange tastes. If she is managing to drink it might be worth trying some of the fortified drinks too. Once Janice was discharged from hospital with a whole load of ensure drinks. This page from the Royal Marsden might give some ideas.
The good news is that when the treatment is over things generally return to normal fairly quickly.
If you have any questions or worries do contact the oncology team and remember to look after yourself too - caring is so hard and you are doing a wonderful job.
<<hugs>>
Steve
