Someone please help....

EAlderete
EAlderete Member Posts: 2
edited March 2014 in Stomach Cancer #1
My Beautiful Mother was diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer on Aptil 14 and is now going chemotherapy treatments. She has lost so much weight becaue of this. Nothing calls her attention to eat. PLEASE SOMEONE help me learn more about what could be good sources of protien and foods to put weight back on her. She is my best friend and I am having such a hard time even imagining her leaving me. What can I do?

Comments

  • Cindy Bear
    Cindy Bear Member Posts: 569
    #2
    Sorry you're here
    Hello. I am so sorry you are here for your mother. I can feel the fear and desperation in your post. You don't say how old your mother is , or where you live but I think you know that Stage IV has a very poor prognosis. I lost my mother to Stage IV uterine cancer last year, my BIL is terminal stage IV esophygeal cancer and his mother was recently diag. with stomach cancer, also Stage IV. Because of her age, she has opted not to do any treatments. (she's 83) Have you spoken to your mother's medical team. What do they suggest? My mother was told to eat anything she wanted in moderation with a few exceptions. Nothing too spicy, stay away from salad bars (e-coli) . Have you tried tempting her with her favorite foods? if she can't eat , at least she needs to drink. Shakes, Instant breakfast drinks, protein drinks like Ensure .
    Does she drink alcohol? Some cancer web sites reccommend a glass of beer or wine to stimulate appetite. (Get drs. approval first of course) if she is up to it, a walk might stimulate appetite . What about ginger for Nausea. I saw a recipe for a Lemon detox drink. On another discussion board. If I can find it I'll copy and paste it to you if you like. It has whole lemon, ginger and a few other things in it. Finally, if she would agree to it and if you can get some, many people swear by marijuana.
  • Tina Blondek
    Tina Blondek Member Posts: 1,500 Member
    #3
    Hi and Welcome
    Sorry that you have to come here, but happy to meet you and I am hoping we can help you. God bless you and your mom at this difficult time. I lost my dad to esophageal cancer in March. This is a long, hard, bumpy, rollercoaster ride. Expect many ups and downs. Learn all you can about her cancer. Ask many questions. Get many answers. Start a journal. As far as foods to make her gain weight, as long as she has an appetite, and is hungry, give her high calorie choices. Lots of protein. If she is unable to eat, she should get a feeding tube. There are two kinds. G tube and J tube. Most cancer patients have to do this to get the proper nutrition. There are weight gain drinks available from health food stores. Best of luck, keep in touch when you can. Caregivers discussion board will also be very good for you to go to.
    Tina
  • Adele0650
    Adele0650 Member Posts: 11
    #4
    Nutritional Drinks
    Hi,
    I am sorry to hear about your Mother, my husband's gastric cancer has come back after surgery. He lost a lot of weight but I did so much research on nutrition I'll try to share what I remember with you. Try to have her drink Boost and Ensure. Yogurt has a good amout of protein (if she likes it) I also added some powdered, dry milk and whey protein to some of his drinks (he did not know about it). We have a juicer and I juice fruits and add some carrots to the drinks, these have protein and calories. I also gave him asparagus. I would steam them with a little water and then put them in the food processor so it would be more like a drink. I also found a Carnation 560 energy drink with 560 calories and 22 grams of protein. If you go on the M D Anderson website and click on nutrition they list the foods with the most protein, fiber etc. they also have some recipes. Another good website is the Nestles Cancer Nutrition web site, they are the makers of Boost. Carnation Cancer Nutrition also has a good website. I hope this helps, good luck and let me know how she does.
    God BLess
    Adele

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