Dad eats hardly anything

Hi 

Can I just ask what stage his cancer is ? Has he had surgery? It might be worthwhile speaking to his team if he is really struggling with side effects . My mum actually had her dose reduced which really helped ease things a lot .

Just answered a similar post above and  my mum reassured me the build up drinks were really hard to take . In fact  she threatened to have us all over for Sunday lunch and serve them up to give us better insight . Always a sharer! 
We stuck with making every mouthful count in terms of calories . Scanned the shelf for the most calories. But also backed it up with calorie loaded milk shakes that she only had to sip over a few hours . In them we sank bars of chocolate, ice cream and some milk !! If she took them slowly she was able to take them . Just small sips . It stopped the constant skid of her weight loss. Also meant we were nagging less . I never realised just how difficult weight loss was to manage . It is so very hard to balance nutrition with calories . But if she managed the chicken soup one then she was getting the nutritional benefit for the day !

Thats only my own approach and a dietitian is probably cringing if they read it .

Now it’s all healthy food I am happy to report but it’s a case of needs must . But I would certainly give his team a call for some clinical input and our helpline staff would give much better advise on 0808 808 0000.

Send him out very best wishes ,

Court  

Hi Court. Thanks so much for your helpful reply. I'm so pleased your mum is back to healthy eating. Dad's stage 4 bowel cancer that's spread to liver, and no surgery. He's lucky to total 800 calories per day. He's got it into his head that he can survive on one meal a day which equates to one ensure drink. My mum is upset that she feels she's having to nag him all the time. I think she's going to phone up the team on Monday. It's so reassuring knowing others have been through similar things and come through. It's just such a worry as he can't afford to lose any more weight. Thanks again Court. Really appreciate you taking the time to reply and will definitely try your ideas about adding chocolate. 

Hi . I’m sorry to hear that your dad is struggling. Some of the high calorie drinks are nicer than others but it’s not something he can survive on. I seem to remember living off cream of chicken soup with pate on toast - every day. If you can find something that he likes then forget about being healthy and concentrate on just getting calories in. Make sure yoghurts and desserts are full fat, sneak butter and even cram into mash potato, make custard with full fat milk etc.

It’s worth mentioning the nausea to his nurses as there are lots of different tablets and some work better for others. There is one called Emend which a lot of people have found good but I think it is one of the more expensive ones so maybe not offered from the start?

Ive attached a link to a booklet which talks a little bit about gaining weight?

https://bowelcancerorguk.s3.amazonaws.com/Publications/EatingWell_BowelCancerUK.pdf

Hope your dad starts to kick up

Take care

Karen x

Hi Karen. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply and for the really useful tips. It's a case of finding something he likes at the moment but we'll keep trying. Thanks for the link. I'll check that out. Hope you're keeping well. 

Good on your mum . I can only encourage your family to talk to his team.  My mum had the same staging . You often hear people say a stage 4 diagnosis is more of a marathon than a sprint . Finding the right balance that works for him but keeps his quality of life going .

I can totally sympathise with your mum . It felt awful having to go about it . My mum was hardly drinking anything on top of that and it was causing issues . Our GP was fantastic at giving her a wee encouraging talk ! 

But I think his team would want to know .

Hope your all having a good weekend .

Court 

Thanks Court. Dad's oncologist reduced his treatment last Thursday. Hopefully that might start to help. He's normally so resilient but this has really knocked the stuffing out of him. 

Hi

i am at exactly the same stage as your Dad, half way through the second cycle of xelox. I too have lost my appetite and have found the only thing I fancy eating is (weirdly) hot crumpets with a cold slice of Edam cheese, and cereal with warm milk. Not sure whether it is the warmth I like or whether I am reverting to childhood favourites!  And, most bizarrely, Garibaldi biscuits, which I haven’t had for over 40 years (I am 62). Perhaps your Dad might fancy something from his childhood? Hope it helps x

Hi Veggie Lady. Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. That's really interesting. I'll ask him about his favorite childhood food but at the moment he's managing a few cornflakes, half a banana, an Ensure drink and either some custard or rice pudding. He can be quite stubborn bless him but I would probably be the same if I was in his shoes. All the best with the rest of your treatment and thanks again. Take care.