Just sttarted treatment

Hi JDCC

HPV16 + tonsil cancer chemoradio finished June 2023

I lost 16 kgs in 2-3 weeks, worrying time, ended up in hospital ward as I could not tolerate Ensure through PEG tube....happily all was resolved...appetite and taste slowly came back, now have a healthy BMI

Peter

if you're struggling then you really need to talk to your team/dietitian.. losing weight is something they will want to keep an eye on, and you really need to get those calories in.. 

Hi JDCC, you really need to talk to your team about the weight loss, if you have a PEG or RIG, you need to start overnight feeds. If you don't have a feeding tube, you could ask about a NG tube. You team will do all they can to keep your weight up, so let them know about your weight loss.

Ray.

Agree with Ray. Get some info on an NG tube. I had one and it’s a doddle to manage. 

Hi 

That happened to me too and I got extremely stressed about it - so stressed that I felt as if the early pressure from the dietician early on had given me a psychological problem about food. For a time, having anything in my mouth made me gag and I had no appetite. I just couldn't face it. I didn't need a rig or peg due to having sinonasal cancer, so I just tried to get 4/5 Ensure drinks inside me per day and ate little bits when I could. For a while it was all I thought/worried about from the moment I woke up. So I spoke to a dietician several times and a Macmillan nurse who referred me to a clinical psychologist, and I had some free BUPA counselling. They supported me to combat the issue and by the time I received a letter inviting me to see the psychologist, I was  eating again so cancelled the appointment.

Having cancer is such a frightening experience it's easy to let those worries get in top of you. I hope sharing this will help you see that the food issues/anxiety can be overcome in time. I lost about 20lbs too, but I am now clear of cancer, still down 20lbs (but ok with it), still healing from the treatment (4months in) and feeling great most of the time. I don't want you to get as over the top obsessed with food (or lack of it!) as I was, because it's another thing that passes. Just do your best, and talk to people who can support you.

All the best x

PS my husband was also a complete gem...such support helps so much.