Hello.

Hello Carole

Welcome to the OC forum, I know you wish you did not have to be here, but it really is a very supportive community.

I am really sorry to hear about your Husbands OC diagnosis, that must have been such a shock to you both! 

With regards to eating, this is something that my Husband had some difficulty with, but was advised quite early on by his oncologist to drink fizzy drinks. He used to starts off with a sip of drink before eating and continue with sips throughout his meals, over time, and since being on chemotherapy he has been able to eat various meals without taking the drink, although it is always to hand, just in case.

We have found that foods cut small work, so this will include salads with soft cheeses, olives, sundried tomatoes. (and any foods high in anti-oxidant's)

Initially he struggled with meat, both steak and chicken would get stuck, so we would slice it extremely thin and only place a few pieces on his plate.. cut thinly it goes such a long way anyway. And over time he has been able to build on this, but we still find little and often is best.

Pastry is something that tends to get stuck, pork pies, quiches, anything like that which he used to love is difficult. 

Gravy is a god-send, and so are things like humous and sauces, that can be help the food to slide. 

We have regular smoothies, again high in anti-oxidants and with super powders, which keep him full and go down easy. 

I hope that some of this information helps and I would be interested to read of any other things that you come up with that work well for your husband.

Sending Strength and best wishes

Lowe'

Hi Lowe, thank you so much for your really helpful reply. It is interesting how advice from sufferers or their relatives is somewhat at odds with the advice from the hospital dietician. Maybe that is because my husband’s tumour is at the base of his oesophagus and has grown into the stomach. He was told no salads or raw food, no meat except minced meat and only a passing reference to fizzy drink. Unfortunately because of his working life, he has been used to eating and drinking quickly and can’t seem to get out of the habit. He also overloads his fork if it something he likes, so then he feels his stomach is bloated and gets pain. I’m not popular if I remind him to eat slowly and in smaller bites!  However we will try salads and perhaps tinned fish as the weather gets warmer  and the fizzy drink with meals. If steak and perhaps roast lamb is back on the menu he will be delighted. Chilli con carne was ok today and things like Moroccan Chickpea Stew or a rich lentil tomato sauce for pasta ( Merchant Gourmet cookery book) and I am thinking of trying lasagne using wheat free pasta. He’s not moving around much and falls asleep a lot during the day so doesn’t get hungry. The crisps are good but he can’t take more than one small packet a day. Fruit seems a problem, he was eating bananas but has ‘gone off’ them now. Tried tinned apricots but that didn’t work, even sliced small. Maybe a smoothie will work but he’s never been keen on those. Back to the drawing board I think. 
I hope your husband continues to improve. Having had bowel cancer five years ago, I know all about pic lines, chemo etc. Not nice. I particularly hated the 48 hours of chemo at home via that nasty bag and I still have numb fingertips.
My thoughts are with you, this really isn’t easy. Thank you again for your reply and the helpful information. 
take  care and keep safe,

Carole

Hi Carole,

So sorry to hear about your husband.  My dad was diagnosed in August last year and having lost over 3 stone because food wasnt reaching his stomach they opted to fit a stent which has been great and although he isnt putting weight on, he isnt losing any and is keeping his meals down now at least.  He too started just having anything smooth/blended etc but as time has gone on he has increased the variety of foods he eats but makes sure he has very small mouthfuls and chews the life out of everything before he swallows it so he is now enjoying bacon and stews and curry's.  He also has ryvita which I was surprised about but he manages them fine.  He has crisps like quavers and wotsits and loving cheese moments at the minute.  He loves a biscuit still and again manages them fine.  eating little and often has helped dad too, he couldnt face a large plate of food to be honest anyway.  Eating tires him out!  He has the ensure drinks, 2-3 per day and I often buy him sweet treats, custards, trifles, tiramasu with as much fat in as I can find.  he doesnt tend to 'fancy' anything in particular so its just a case of trying new things and giving him as much variety as possible.  My dad is 75 now and also receiving palliative care following 6 sessions of chemo from October through to February.  

Good luck with everything.

Ali

x

Hi Ali, thanks for your input, very helpful. My husband hasn’t had chemo because the consultants decided treatment wasn’t in his best interests. No stent yet either. He also has short term memory loss which means he keeps forgetting to eat little bites and chew well, adding to his problems. He has put on a stone over the last two months and we think this may be water retention. He had a blood test this morning to check things. He has ginger biscuits, Ryvita occasionally, tiramisu, stewed apples and custard, Creme caramel, tapioca, semolina and jam, chocolate mousses, etc but doesn’t eat much in the way of main meals. He seems ok with lentils, chickpeas etc so I make vegetarian meals to give some variety from mince and fish pies/ fish in parsley sauce. No stent yet but he’s exhausted when he wakes up. Can be asleep in his chair by 0830 for a few hours. I may truly him on the cheesy wotsits and quavers.   Veg curry for lunch today with some quinoa. Cheese omelette using one egg seems to go down well but otherwise I struggle to get him to eat. He has half a weetabix every few days otherwise no breakfast. Concerned if he doesn’t eat then his body will go into famine mode and start shutting down. We are waiting now to have some contact with the Macmillan Palliative Care nurse, maybe she will have some ideas. 
Good luck with your Dad, maybe now the weather is warming up things will look better. 
carole

dad gets calls from an onocology dietician every so often and she has some good advice.  Little and often is the key I think which is hard with the older generation as they are used to 3 meals a day and trying to get dad to eat 6/7 times a day is a struggle. Not 6/7 meals of course, but general grazing Ive told him is fine on and off so a yoghurt or some chocolate in between his breakfast and lunch is ok.  He can manage a full weetabix most days for breakfast but has taken to ryvitas in the morning now with jam so as long as he eats something I dont really care what it is.  I felt the same way actually about his body shutting down.  his palliaitive care nurse is amazing and in fact the same lady now see's his wife too on her visits as she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer just before xmas so its handy that the nurse and the occupational health contacts are the same for them both.  Dad has a wheelchair, a hospital bed, a toilet raiser, a zimmer frame all sorted by the team, I really cant fault them at all so fingers crossed they are of help to your husband.  

Take care

Ali

x

Good grief Ali,  your parents are really going through it. I had vowel cancer almost five years ago and am due to have my final check ups in April /May 

Sunce he didn’t have oncology, we don’t have any contact with that department at all. In fact the hospital will only do anything if he needs a stent, which isn’t yet. He’s only eating about three times a day. He had a couple of ginger nuts this morning with coffee, he will have a little curry and then something small this evening. Maybe crisps if I can persuade him. He says I am trying to fill him up and it isn’t comfortable. Have rung the palliative care team just now to see when we might hear from the lady who covers our area. At least we have both just had our second COVID jabs. Had a panic call late afternoon yesterday from our surgery, saying there were spare Pfizer. vaccines and could we get there by 1730 to have them. Made it with 15 minutes to spare!  
My husband doesn’t have any equipment at the moment but we are at the beginning of his journey so maybe that will come later. No room for a hospital bed, or a wheelchair in our house. 
Take care and keep safe. 
Carole

oh bless you, I bet you feel relieved having had your 2nd dose, its been a real worry hasnt it.  Dad and his wife havent had their second one yet and Ive only just had my first one.  I hope your appointment goes well.   

Ah I see, I wasnt sure how it works given Ive only got dads experience to speak of.  They didnt really have room for the bed and it takes up half the living room but dad cant manage the stairs now so we didn't have a choice really and the wheelchair is permanently in the boot of my car as he only needs it when we leave the house which is only ever for hospital appointments now anyway. Crikey knows what we will do once his wife aso cant manage the stairs

Im off to see them shortly once ive finished work - have a lovely day (its raining here!)

Ali

Rain and cold wind her. Take care and thanks 

C x

Hi Carole,

I'm so very sorry to hear about your husband.

One thing that is slightly different but it'll certainly help is get the fattiest Jersey milk & use that without water for tea or coffee (coffee is better). It's absolutely full of the required fats your husband needs. Another great & similar idea (if you don't know) is ice cream, the Cornish or Devon varieties. Let a dish of this melt for a while & it goes down a treat. My mum is Gluten free & that gives her only a few ice creams without wheat etc. But if your husband isn't Gluten Free, he can eat any ice cream, & there are so many fantastic flavours. Some have biscuits in, others have chocolate chips, I could go on for ever.

Thick soups are also good as part of main meals, a starter if you like. And they also come in different thicknesses.

One thing my mother keeps by her during the day are cheese triangles & Boursin portions. She can grab a piece any time she wants, & just think how fatty they are.

But the ultimate in energy & fats are peanuts, over 50% in fats & great for putting weight on. Last one i can recommend is flapjacks, full of carbs & used by the special forces for sustained energy during runs etc. ( I can testify to this).

I hope this is helpful.

My best wishes to you & your husband,

Graeme.

Thanks Graeme. Because of his weight gain my husband won’t have full cream milk and objects to me fortifying it with dried milk  ( I do it anyway but don’t tell him) on a similar note he won’t have mashed potatoes, in fact he now won’t have potatoes at all. Boursin he likes but not sure it is runny enough for him to get down. He does have a little ice cream but he can’t have anything that is t smooth. Flapjacks would be too dry to swallow for him. But all good ideas that I can build on, very kind of you. 
taje care and my best wishes to your mother. I’m gluten free and dairy free - Judes Vegan ice cream is delicious! Not that I am a vegan, but with that who cares!

kind regards

carole