Connect
My sister was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer
My sister was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer and has lost a lot of weight. She has a feeding tube in her stomach and needs to gain weight. I've heard that sugar feeds cancer so looking to make her food without sugar. Has anyone found a mixture I can put into her feeding tube which helps gain weight, little to no sugar has vitamins to help with her upcoming radiation and chemo?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Esophageal Cancer Support Group.
Connect
Thank you for this information, I will share it with my sister. Today will be her third radiation treatment.
KTV
Wow, that is really great that you are now cancer free after all that. I had chemo, radiation, and jtube for several months , but no surgery. Where did you have treatment?
Don
Treatment was local on the Monterey Peninsula. We went up to Stanford for consults but were assured that our surgeon and oncologist, formerly at Stanford, were as good as it gets!
Hi Anita1948, There is a product on Amazon for mixing with milk or protein shakes called NakedMass it comes in a plant base or whey base. One shake is 1230 cals.
If you wish to believe that going to a diet for your sister of little to no sugar will benefit her... then who am I to argue. My belief, from all that I've seen in counseling many hundreds of my fellow EC patients all over the world is that that ship has sailed... she has EC... it couldn't care less what her diet is. It will burn calories anywhere it can find calories. But your sister, like most of us on our EC journeys, is likely losing weight and is very weak. She needs calories (and hydration) any way she can get them! I don't care if she eats 10 donuts a day... she needs to stay strong enough to keep getting treatments. I know I had a time during my neoadjuvant treatments where I could swallow nothing. So I leaned heavily on my J tube to live... and that was 5 years ago. I know G tube feeding allows for more options than J tube feedings. All the best.
Gary
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 ReactionsHow is your sister doing. My wife has the same problem. Unfortunately she refuses to get a feeding tube. I think a lot of her feeding problems is also psychological. All the doctors we've been to pretty much told her that she'd be dead in a year to year and a half.
I've taken her to our regional best hospital for cancer CU Denver Anschutz and MD Anderson in Houston. Tried to get her into the Mayo clinic,12 week wait. They all say the same thing. No hope, no trails, no alternative treatments.
So.... Like I said I believe it's more psychological. Cuz she feels what's the point she's going to die anyways. We've had no positive medical influence on her case.
She has stage four squamous cell carcinoma in her esophagus. The reason it's stage 4 it spread to the lymph nodes in her abdomen. Initial chemo has been shrinking all the tumors. But because nothing has localized nobody will touch her.
I hope your sister finds strength with the feeding tube and strength in you to go on.
@ktv2019
Wow stage 4 EC. My wife has stage four squamous cell carcinoma in the esophagus. Stage 4 due to lymph nodes in her abdomen. When you got radiation did your cancer localize before treatment or did they do radiation to every thing
I've been telling people a long time that liquid hope is what saved me. I went and weigh 108 and I went out weighing 108 it's all vegan no artificial sweeteners no onions no milk products you can get it on Amazon and if you look at who the manufacturer is, if your doctor calls up the manufacturer, you can get about eight free samples and I asked my insurance company with three appeals and finally they paid for it while I was in the hospital for 15 days and when I came out and needed feeding tube packs, the one I got called liquid Ho taste like squash soup you can eat it heated up or you can eat it right out of the bag and the same company makes a product called Nourish which has more fruit in it. I am intolerant of so many foods I get pain and diarrhea from milk products onions, cruciferous, vegetables, avocado anything with milk protein in it so these foods really saved me. I used it in my feeding tube and I used it as meals each one has about 490 cal so depending on your size you could eat three or four or five a day. I wish you luck and I hope this saves her from feeling bad and from losing too much weight. It has no chemicals in it.
@anita1948 Article regarding sugar and cancer.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/cancer-education-center/newsfeed-post/sugars-role-in-cancer-1/
This may help.
https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2025/10/the-sugar-cancer-connection--five-things-you-should-know.html