Weight gain during chemo

loving_son
loving_son Member Posts: 5
in Lung Cancer #1
Hi all, my dad (72) diagnosed stage 4 nsclc (squamous) has stated chemo - carbo/gem. He had lost weight prior to dx and has lost a little more since. Just wondering if it is possible to gain weight while on chemo. He is a big guy and i don't want him to lose more weight. Should we be encouraging weight gain or wait to see if chemo is effective at all and take from there? any advice/suggestions would help.

Comments

  • Ex_Rock_n_Roller
    Ex_Rock_n_Roller Member Posts: 281 Member
    #2
    Hi, son!
    Sorry to hear about your dad.

    I would say the docs probably consider weight gain all to the good, so if he can do it, I can't imagine that being a bad thing. I know I was told to completely forget about nutrition guidelines and just pack it on. It was tough to do that because I also had radiation that affected my esophagus, but if there isn't a lot of nausea involved, I would think somebody could gain weight during chemo.

    I don't have any specific advice probably other than encouraging multiple small meals rather than a few large ones. Also, he may fear nausea more than is warranted by the reality. I know I had some occasions when I really didn't feel like eating, but once I got rolling, it was no problem.

    Best of luck ...
  • loving_son
    loving_son Member Posts: 5
    #3
    Ex_Rock_n_Roller said:

    Hi, son!
    Sorry to hear about your dad.

    I would say the docs probably consider weight gain all to the good, so if he can do it, I can't imagine that being a bad thing. I know I was told to completely forget about nutrition guidelines and just pack it on. It was tough to do that because I also had radiation that affected my esophagus, but if there isn't a lot of nausea involved, I would think somebody could gain weight during chemo.

    I don't have any specific advice probably other than encouraging multiple small meals rather than a few large ones. Also, he may fear nausea more than is warranted by the reality. I know I had some occasions when I really didn't feel like eating, but once I got rolling, it was no problem.

    Best of luck ...

    Hi Ex
    Ex thanks for the reply. I have read about your personal experience and have used it as an example to give my dad hope for positive results. Thanks again.

    PS Nice pic!
  • medi_2
    medi_2 Member Posts: 505 Member
    #4
    Ex_Rock_n_Roller said:

    Hi, son!
    Sorry to hear about your dad.

    I would say the docs probably consider weight gain all to the good, so if he can do it, I can't imagine that being a bad thing. I know I was told to completely forget about nutrition guidelines and just pack it on. It was tough to do that because I also had radiation that affected my esophagus, but if there isn't a lot of nausea involved, I would think somebody could gain weight during chemo.

    I don't have any specific advice probably other than encouraging multiple small meals rather than a few large ones. Also, he may fear nausea more than is warranted by the reality. I know I had some occasions when I really didn't feel like eating, but once I got rolling, it was no problem.

    Best of luck ...

    Klondike Bars
    Works like a charm and easy on the tummy.
    Good luck!
    Medi
  • dennycee
    dennycee Member Posts: 857 Member
    #5
    Ice cream therapy was
    Ice cream therapy was wonderful. My caretaker cousin and sister kept a stock of fruit cups, pudding cups and bananas next to my bed. They fed me smoothies for breakfast and lots of easy to digest foods and treats.

    Talk to your dads onco nurse to learn whether or not they want your dad to gain weight. Some of the treatments can be very hard on the body. If he is morbidly obese they may want to monitor his weight closely.
  • tdejonge7684
    tdejonge7684 Member Posts: 11
    #6
    My dad is on round 4 of
    My dad is on round 4 of cisplatin/vp16 for SCLC and has gained about 20lbs.
    At first he was very sick only eating ice cream and small amounts of food. The main reason he was not eating was that he was just in general sick from the cancer. A week after round 1 of chemo was over the steroid started taking over and he was eating more and more. He is on round 4 and feels almost back to normal but is still eating more then he ever did.

    I think my dad may just be having a very good reaction to the chemo as he feels almost normal but still has alot of chemo steroids in him.

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