Husband Has Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Hi Comfort_2024 

Welcome to the carers group though sorry to hear about what you are going through. At one stage in my wife's illness about the only thing that was keeping her going was sucking on ice cubes.

You are right that eating is often an issue with people with cancer and that in turn often impacts on us caring. In the UK the dietitians might often prescribe ensure drinks or complan - Janice had some of these and liked a few much more than others. 

One of the things I know I had to learn was to look after myself, I found some of the advice in your emotions when someone has cancer really quite helpful. 

<<hugs>>

Steve

Good morning, Steve, and thank you for responding. I am noticing that my husband's lips look dry and tight at present, and have begun using Vaseline on them. He has an issue with cold foods.....anything cold seems to disturb his stomach. Sucking ice may work at times when he is asking for cool water to be mixed with room temp water.....I will ask h8m if he'd like to suck on a bit of ice. ️

My husband has the same diagnosis as yours, and similar problems eating and vomiting. I am a chef and worked in a care home specialising in special dietary requirements before he became ill. He likes soups a different homemade one every day, cooked apple or pears and bananas, I find little and often is best, I have Nualtra foodlink powder that I add to anything I can, soup, tea etc I have the natural flavour but there are lots of fruit flavour shakes too and juice cartons all high calorie. Add double cream, butter and sugar to anything you can too. It is incredibly hard I know but you're not alone .

VioletQ, thank you so very much! I am so happy to find someone in similar circumstances to mine. The different soup every day sounds great...he won't get bored with the food. I have simply been boiling veggies and green, along with snapper fish, then blending it to make a soup for him. Do you have any simple soup recipes you'd like to share? The blander they are, the better. I did not think of cooking the fruits. How long do you bake and apple or pearor banana for? Thanks you so much. Any information you can share, would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, simple soups like veg.... potatoes onion carrots swede cooked in stock with a little pepper and herbs, you can add double cream when blended. Try adding spinach or peas for a change.

Tomato, red pepper and red lentils .

Leek and potato again add double cream and cheese.

Butternut squash and sweet potato.

Chicken and veg.

Really anything he likes cooked in stock and blended.

Make all soups thick for maximum nutrition use butter cheese double cream in anything you can, ask for a referral to a dietician to prescribe extra things 

What about shakes? Blend fruit with milk and cream and sugar syrup.

Good luck,let me know if I can help further.

Good afternoon, and thank you so much, Violetq. I truly appreciate these recipes. I will start using these right away. Have you tried any shakes using yogurt. Is your spouse's appetite good, meaning you are satisfied that he is eating enough? 

Hi, my husband's appetite is non existent, I make him all his favourite food but he has just a couple of mouthfuls which is why I put as much calories and goodness into everything plus the vomiting doesn't help with maintaining weight or feeling like eating

You can put yoghurt in shakes, I use full fat milk, yoghurt,a banana whatever fruit he likes, milkshake syrup, good ice cream and when blended add double cream.

Violetq, my husband's appetite is also non-existent. I am also worried about sugar content in my husband's foods. I try to find foods that have minimum sugar, or next to none. I know the cancer in his body would love the sugar and he could probably eat more, if the food was sweeter, but I refuse to feed the cancer! I will begin making shakes, using fruit powders and yogurts also - thanks very much for so much really good food advice. I will also add in full fat coconut milk. I a

m praying that both you and I have some success with feeding our husbands. Is your husband also constipated from the little that he does manage to eat?