Biopsy results & meeting oncologist - any tips on weight gain before chemo & radiotherapy?

Hello Glebe 

I am Brian one of the Community Champions here at Macmillan.I have just noticed your post has gone unanswered. I can't answer your post myself as i have a different cancer however by me replying it will be "bumped up" to the top of the group and I hope be seen by other community members and answered.

I wish you well with your Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy - i have only had radiotherapy myself and 20 fractions does give you fatigue. As to weight gain - well the medication I am on for Prostate Cancer has that as a side effect - I only have to look at food and the pounds go on - but that's one way of gaining weight you don't want!!

Best wishes going forward - Brian.

Hello Glebe

Im no dietician but I’ve had to try and make sure my husband maintains his weight. We’ve been eating loads of oily fish baked with added extra virgin olive oil. He adds plenty of butter to potatoes and I use butter and full fat milk to mashed potatoes. Plenty of good oil whenever possible.  Single cream on porridge etc and he’s gone a bit rogue on biscuits and recently mince pies … with cream of course. 
It goes against all my healthy eating cooking habits but I was told to throw out the rule book ….. he hasn’t really lost any weight which is good. This is probably what you are doing already

Geraldine x

Yes, when my husband had lost loads of weight and was struggling to eat before his treatment started, custard and ice cream became his friends. He also had fortisips for a few weeks. Mash with cheese. Hummus. As Geraldine said, the rule book over healthy eating was thrown away. Eating anything at all was healthy. 

Best of luck with your treatment!

Looks like he’s in good hands ! Sadly I still have weight to lose and when they did my laparoscopy I was told I had a fatty liver snd this could be a problem for surgery as they have to move this to get to my tumour! so have to watch that as well have a really hard diet for the two weeks before surgery which should be fun ! 

Hi Geraldine

Thanks for the suggestions, it all helps, I lost 2 stone quite quickly which was worrying, but I am slowly managing to gain weight now so I just want to keep it up.

When my Dad was diagnosed with Stage4 he was already choking on anything, even water.  He could only drink build up drinks, sipping slowly for about 10 weeks and lost about 3 stone rapidly.  Once he had 2 or three lots of chemo he began to eat again and the weight has now gone back on.  I'd add 2 or 3 build up drinks like ensure or fortisip to your diet now so you get the nutrients you need..xx

2 or 3 a day x

Hi stylish,

Thank you for reply, I am on 2 fortisips a day and dietician has been a great help, given lots of idea's now which has helped. I am hoping that the chemo will help with my swallowing too.

I know it won't be easy and the oncologist wasn't keen to put me on chemo because of my medical history. But I have not had a COPD flare up for about 8 months now, and my recent heart scan showed my heart function is practically back to normal following my heart attack 2 years ago. I was so pleased when he agreed to let me try. But I won't just try, I will succeed 

Hello Stylish. What chemo treatment was your Dad given? My husband is about to start 2nd line chemo as the last treatment stopped working. His eating is deteriorating again, with food starting to get stuck, like it did when he was first diagnosed in August.

Grateful for any ray of hope,

Lorraine x