How to put on weight?

Sorry to hear about your dad. My mum too has lost weight recently due to cancer and it is frightening to see them change appearance in front of you. The problem is you can't force feed them and if they don't fancy it... My mum now eats what she wants when she wants making sure she has mix of healthy food and cake. Gradually she's put some on. I remember my nan had build up drinks from the chemist so they may help too. My advice is that although it is intensely worrying and u want them to put on weight, it maybe their body is allowing them.  As long as they enjoy what they eat and have a few treats u can't go wrong. Good luck x

Hi 

sorry to hear about your Dad. 

Is it that he is unable to eat due to surgery or does he just not fancy it? I’m waiting for surgery, will find out next week if PG or TG. I saw a dietician a few weeks ago, her advice was eating little and often and to load up calories, like if having a cracker with cheese put butter on it, having smoothies with banana and avocado, high calorie and high protein with complex carbs, sweet potato mash, eggs, piorridge with tahini or peanut butter.  Sounds good but I’m not sure how I will be following surgery. 

Im sure having the chemo will be affecting his appetite also, I would always drop a few lbs in first week, so combine that with the surgery it must be hard. Is he on supplement drinks? What are dieticians suggesting? 

X

Hi Lou, sorry to hear that you are going through this as well. My dad has always loved his food & he has ate very well considering what he has been through, however he does not seem to be putting on any weight at all. I think its a combination of this years diagnoses stress, the fact that he does not have a stomach now so perhaps not the same appetite and the chemo gives him bad nausea. During his operation he was in hospital for 9 days and he was drip fed, but then once back home my mum has been cooking him 6 to 8 small meals throughout the day and he has been taking ensure shakes and complan shakes to help build up. But as I said seems to be very difficult putting any weight on at all. Although he is 'on the road to recovery' his body seems to look skinnier everyday. I think this is part of the process though just not nice to see. I wish you best wishes on your treatment. Any questions please ask, I've been with my dad every step of the way.

Nina x

Hi J7376, yes it is very disturbing to see someone that was once very fit and healthy slowly deteriorate. But from what I have read and heard, you get worse before you get better. This is a long recovery process and hopefully as time goes on each day is an improvement. My dad is not allowed a lot of sugar intake due to his total gastrectomy (I think its to do with the break down). But he is a total foodie!! Sending you & your mum best wishes for your future, stay positive! & enjoy the festive as much as you can

Nina x

Hi there,

One of the problems after a TG is dealing with sugar and so many of those high calorie drinks like Ensure are laden with sugar. When my dad had his TG, he focused on lots and lots of protein rich foods because they were easier for his body to tolerate without dumping syndrome and reflux. Soft boiled, poached or steamed eggs, mince, lentil soups etc. If he ate complex carbs (starchy food), we would always combine it with something containing protei because it seemed to help avoid digestive symptoms

Little and often did it for him - we gave him food every 90 minutes in the weeks after his TG and even if he could only eat a few bites each time, it seemed to help a lot - his body was able to absorb and cope with what we gave him each time. He stablised his weight after a couple of weeks and he moved to eating about 5-6 times a day.

He started to lose weight again with post op chemo and it was hard but we reverted back to the original feed him every hour or two and that seemed to help.

Hope this helps,

SDH x

Hi SDH, thank you for your message and advice. How is your dad keeping now? Did your dad get flot chemo? My dad has just had 1 round post op and has said he cant take anymore as its hut him too hard and he is very weak. Would be good to know how your dad coped with it.

Thank you

Nina x

Hi Nina,

If you look at my profile, I've told dad's story from diagnosis to current situation. It's long but it should give you a good idea of how he's doing! What's different about dad is he was stage IV at diagnosis but had a TG and is currently NED.

Dad breezed through his initial chemo but found post op really really hard. He was on a different regimen to your dad - he was on FOLFOX, which is Oxaliplatin + 5-FU. FLOT is a lot harder because it also includes Taxol/Taxotere.

Our oncologist suggested a dose reduction to 80% of full dose FOLFOX and there is no evidence that dose reduction even down to 70% affects outcome. I'm aware that some people on post op FLOT get moved to FOLFOX - ie dropping the Taxol/Taxane can be a good option.

I know it's tough but getting through as much post op chemo gives him the best possible chance of avoiding a recurrence so it's worth trying to find ways to tinker with the dosage if it means he can carry on.

Take care,

Sheena x

Thanks nina x enjoy Christmas as much as you can. My motto take each day as it comes! Love to u and your dad x

Hi Sheena,

I start post op chemo on New year's Eve so was interested in your dad's experiences. I had a TG 8 weeks ago , and will have ECX chemotherapy - not looking forward to it but as you say it reduces chances of recurrence.

Did your dad find it hard due to fatigue , nausea or other side effects? Did he have the same issues pre-op and were they intensified post-op? Or did he get further problems? 

Hoping your dad is doing better now .

Nita

Hi Nita,

I hope your chemo goes well when you start it - best of luck with it!

With the post-op chemo, dad's main problem was fatigue - massive absolute fatigue at a level he didn't experience before. But he also found it hard to keep hydrated and his weight up - this was probably due to reflux and digestive issues due to the TG. He said it took about 6-7 weeks to get over the fatigue and he's back to working out four times a week as he did before he was diagnosed. I think his stubborn, determined mindset has a lot to do with it.

Sheena x