Reactions to chemo

Hi,

If your husband isn’t eating then his weight will continue to plummet and he almost certainly will be considered unsuitable for surgery as it is very tough on the body. To be brutally honest, your husband needs to decide how much he wants to live as surgical removal of the cancer offers the best chance of doing so. When eating was difficult for me and I lost all pleasure in it, I started to think of it as a form of medicine which I had to take if I wanted to get better. Your husband has a big decision to make. I hope he chooses wisely. 

I had a feeding tube which had a lot of calories that helped me maintain weight. I did lose a lot of weight due to I couldn't eat anything calorific ie chips etc and I also loved a glass of cider but that stopped. As the treatment progressed I was able to eat soft foods. Hope things improve for you 

Hi. Apologies for my previous blank post- internet problems. Chemotherapy can be a difficult time and sorry to read of your husbands struggles. I am a bit confused as you say he has an an NJ tube so I was surprised that he needs anything supplementary to this as in my own case ( mine was an NG and post surgery) it was set up to provide all my nutritional needs apart from drinking water?  I found the best way of running this was to run it flat out at night and disconnect it during the day thus giving maximum freedom. I am afraid that for most people with OC that diarrhea is a recurring theme both through treatment and post surgery if he takes this route. The digestive system is in such a mess that this has to be expected. So that is my advice- get the NJ system sorted. Getting the nutrition in prior to surgery is vital. I hope all goes well for you both.

Thank you for your reply I hope you are well. Have you finished treatment? 

Thank you for your reply..He has had problems with the NJ tube coming out 3 times and each time was admitted to hospital waiting up to 5 days for a replacement,without food or feed, so he lost a lot of weight.  He then had bad reactions between chemo and feed so they had to find one that suited him better which hes been on this week. Fingers crossed he is tolerating it.

Did you have a lot of phlegm?  He said everything tastes sickly. Got pre op assessment next week.

Yes i had five chemo and 25 radiotherapy. I had the operation in January 23. I have to watch what I eat and I tire quickly but that could also be down to age. Hope things start improving for you and hubby

Oh dear he does seem to be having a struggle. I have never ever read of anyone else on this site having problems with NJ or NG tubes coming out as they are normally so firmly anchored at the nose it is difficult to envisage how they would move but obviously in your husbands case they have. I know that many people have had problems with their PEG system but as this is anchored in the abdomen area then problems seem to occur. People with stents do however seem to have the most problems with movement/displacement. You asked about phlegm and I only had a problem of this nature initially before I got diagnosed and treated. However I never attempted to eat with the NG tube in place so this is most likely the issue. Lets hope the hospital sorts him out. Also I am surprised to read he was left in hospital with no nutritional route not even a temporary IV system ?  

Hi 

My husband was nil by mouth for several months .He had an NG line fitted but never attempted to eat or drink whilst it was in situ ..During a laparoscopy to stage his cancer he was fitted with a JEJ feeding line into his duodenum .He had this all through his chemo/surgery /adjuvant chemo . In fact he had it in situ for almost a year .It helped tremendously. He would feed overnight and at one point he was advised to feed for 17 hours a day .

After his second cycle of chemo he found he could eat soft foods , soups etc but still topped up with the feeding line at night as he was determined to be deemed fit enough to have the surgery .

I would suggest checking with your husband’s clinical nurse to see if a solution can be found for your husband .

Best wishes 

J x