Weight loss

Hi , 

Welcome to the forum but I’m also sorry you find yourself here! 

Can I ask if your weight loss was intentional prior to your diagnosis or more to do with symptoms etc.,? 

I was diagnosed early, T1N0M0, I had very few symptoms prior to diagnosis & was otherwise well so I had no weight loss before but diagnosis gave me a massive reality check & I began modifying my diet. I began losing weight, partly down to the change in diet but I think also down to the pure stress of the whole situation! Once I began treatment (if you click on my profile you’ll be able to read a little background of my journey) I lost possibly about a further 3lbs throughout the first 3 weeks of treatment but the radiotherapy girls asked was I dieting as my butt was shrinking! Now any other time this would have been great news but during radiotherapy not so good, I think this was possibly down to my body shape changing rather than the 3lbs lost during treatment as I’d lost around 2.5 stone before beginning the chemoradiotherapy, they had to get the physicists down to check my measurements whilst on the radiotherapy bed to see if they needed recalculating! I explained the kind of things I was eating & just added in some extra carbs to make sure I didn’t lose anymore weight until treatment was over & that worked for me. 

I must add that because my treatment was quite targeted to a specific area I didn’t get so many of the bowel disturbances that a lot of people suffer during treatment so I was incredibly lucky in that respect & I had little to no loss in appetite at all.

Hopefully some others will be along soon to offer some advice from their experiences too & if you need to ask anything else in the meantime, want to share your journey or just have a general moan about stuff then this is the place to come. 

Good luck with the start of your treatment, it really will fly by once your started. 

Nicola

Hi

I had no weight loss prior to diagnosis even though it is often a symptom of the disease. I did loose weight during and after treatment due to the chemo.

About 2 weeks in I started to loose my appetite and seemed to only crave certain foods. I lost weight steadily every week nothing that concerned my medical team, but they did give me some awful tasting protein shakes. I remember well only wanting to eat tuna baguettes, popcorn and very cold fruit, it was very odd. I was advised to eat full fat food and if I ate something I liked to have two. My oncologist was always telling me to eat puddings like trifle, egg custard but I simply had no desire to eat. 

Treatment is accumulative so side effects tend to get worse towards the end of treatment and after. The two weeks after my treatment I didn’t eat much at all, zero appetite and I was sleeping a lot. I could only manage small amounts of fruit, crackers etc.

I lost a stone and a half in a short period. However, I was a little over weight to begin with so could afford to loose the weight. I actually looked really well and received lots of compliments!

My appetite eventually returned, I then indulged in all the foods I’d missed and my weight went right back up. 15 months on and I’m trying to loose some again!

Treatment is very short, so if you do loose weight it won’t be for a pro-longed period. 

All the best with your treatment. 

Sarah x

Hi Nicola, thanks for your msg. To answer your question: the weight loss was a symptom, not intentional. I lost about 15 lbs in the last 5-6 months,  I had a consultation with a dietitian a couple of weeks ago, and now I'm on a high protein diet. I haven't lost more weight, but I haven't managed to gain either. 

I'll keep in touch,

tropical_vic

Thanks, Sarah. I'm afraid that I'll lose more weight as the treatment begins. Right now, I usually have 3 meals per day, plus lots of snacks in between. I don't eat red meat, and my diet is more vegetarian in style. I'm finding difficult to add more calories to my diet. I'm also lactose/dairy intolerant. I imagine I'll lose more weight as the treatment begins, I hope I don't lose too much and it ends up interfering with my treatment.

You both, Nicola & Sarah are great!!! Thank you so much.

tropical_vic

Hi 

Totally understand your worries.

My advise will be to take one day at a time and try not to look too far into the future. As you’ve read, mine and Nikki’s experiences were very different. I was stage 3b incidentally, In general, the higher your cancer staging the more likely you’ll experience more and/or harsher symptoms. However, we are all different and our cancers are as individual as us, so you won’t know how your body will react to the treatment until you’re in the thick of it. For most of us, the first two weeks are pretty easy with either mild or no symptoms presenting.

If you haven’t done so already, maybe share your concerns with your medical team. Most hospitals will have a nutrionist on site who specialises in diet for cancer patients. 

There will be support if you do loose weight, especially if any weight loss hinders treatment. I think it unlikely though, as the treatment is accumulative weight loss is more likely to happen middle to end of treatment and beyond.

Whilst you’re worried, it sounds like you understand your body well and are adapting things to maintain your weight. Just having this awareness is a step in the right direction and you will be ready to adapt further if and when you do loose weight.

All the best with your treatment. Nikki and I both had good results, we started treatment at the same time, staged very differently and are now both 16 months in remission. If you do loose some weight it will be a small price to pay for the positive results that you’ll get.

Whatever you experience, remember it will be temporary and will get better. 

Sx

Hi again

I forgot to say we have an online Dietitian you can contact directly for advise:

https://community.macmillan.org.uk/cancer_experiences/ask_the_expert/ask_dietitian/