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Any advice for eating with esophageal cancer during chemo?
Looking to see if anyone has any pointers for being able to tolerate food/increase desire to eat. My dad has lost a tremendous amount of weight, he can't tolerate protein shakes because of the acid reflux. The only explanation he gives for not eating is he just forgets to do it. He doesn't have a desire to eat despite knowing logically it is something he needs to do. Any tips or advice?
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One of the first things that The G.I. doctor did upon diagnosis of my husbands 8 cm tumor in his lower esophagus was put in a PEG tube. The first three weeks of chemo as well as the few weeks prior to starting chemo, my husband felt like perhaps he jumped the gun too soon on the PEG tube. Then, as chemo and radiation started into the third and fourth week, he couldn’t drink the protein drinks anymore. He couldn’t swallow any more information had Increased too much. That was approximately mid June. He has been feeding himself with Jevity through the PEG tube ever since. Even though he did bolus feedings, as well as his medicine for nausea and pain through the PEG tube, he has found it much more advantageous to have the continuous pump. He gets 6 to 7 boxes of Jevity in per day. Which holds his calories up and his weight up. Your dad might want to consider this so that even if he doesn’t have an appetite, he’s being fed and nourished, and his weight will maintain.
Praying for the best solution for him. Take care now.
Patti
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2 ReactionsI could not eat even once a day let alone every 10 minutes.
One of my favorite inventions for monitoring weight is my talking scale. You can order one on Amazon for about $40. You step on the scale and it tells you your weight without having to look at anything. I have low vision so it really helps. After a couple of days, you can tell your docs how much you are losing per day. Can you ask your docs when they think the time for a feeding tube will come? If they don't have a reasonable answer, then you might want to look for a second opinion.
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2 ReactionsIt has been talked about, but the doctors say it isn't time for a feeding tube. They just keep telling him to eat whatever he can, and take a bite of something every 10 minutes.
During my treatment for esophageal cancer, I lost all appitite for eating for months and lost 20 pounds. The solution was to have feeding tube installed and to take 6 ISOSOURCE canisters per day which provided the needed calories and protein. I'm now cancer free and my appitite is back full strength. Have the docs talked about getting a feeding tube?
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