Dad diagnosed with PC Cancer

[jenjen80]

Hello all,

I am new to this thread. My dad has recently been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer with mets to his liver. He had his first round of Folfirinox last week. He otherwise is an extremely fit and healthy 67 year old so this diagnosis has come as a complete shock, as I'm sure it has to anyone faced with this. Apart from that, We are an extremely positive family and determined to fight this with everything we have and look at all options available.

I wondered if any of you could share your advice with regards to eating to try and gain weight again. My dad is athletic so has always been slim, but our concern right now is the added weightloss he has suffered due to this diagnosis. He is still playing golf and cycling when he can, although he is very fatigued. He is trying to eat as much as possible but has good and bad days with regards to his digestion and discomfort. I have read that some people add protein powders to food? Any advice is greatly appreciated, thank you x

[Sandra58]

Hello I was diagnosed at 68 August 2017 with stage IV Pancreatic Cancer it was in my lungs and lymph nodes. So far the chemo (since August ) has kept the tumors stable , however my last CT in April showed that the cancer has started to shrink for the first time.

Eating has been an issue since I started feeling back pain in Nov of 2016.... took until August 2018 to convince my doctor to do a CT . Most of the time I am eating soft foods and soup, however I do have a day or two when I’m actually hungry and can eat sandwiches, fried chicken and normal stuff ( small portions). I find if I can eat protein when I wake up and before I go to bed then the nausea is reduced and I seem to have a little more energy. My go to food is egg custard as it is loaded with protein and slides down easily. Lots of eggs and whole milk. Also, good (Belgian chocolate pudding ) easy to digest and 380 calories per 1/2 cup.

Wishing you the best

Sandra

[jenjen80]

Hi Sandra,

Thank you for your reply. Thats great news that your CT has shown shrinkage, just what we want to hear!

It has also taken about 4 -5 months for my dad to finally be diagnosed, after having a range of tests over these last few months before a CT scan finally revealed a tumour on the tail of his pancreas and the 2 mets on his liver. I have spent may a late night reading and researching so much. This forum has been a wonderful source of information.

He takes creon (although its been a mission for my mum and i to encourage him to take as much as he needs when he eats as he hates taking tablets!) He struggles with constipation and cramping some days and then other days he's not too bad and off to golf etc. His appetite has greatly reduced and he constantly has a funny taste in his mouth and said that all food is tasteless. He tries to eat as much as he can though as he's keen to put on weight. He's also got ensure drinks too and pro cal shakes. He doesn't like to eat at night as he says it lies on his tummy when he goes to bed and makes him uncomfortable. Thank you very much for the tips though, its much appreciated. The egg custards are a good shout! (thank you from my mum too!)

How are you coping with the chemo? Are you on folfirinox? My dad has had some nausea and diarrhoea and been washed out on a couple of days, but pretty good on others.

Wishing you the very best too,

Jenny

[Veema]

Hi Jen

I used procal powder to add to my husband's food...they were great as they add calories and protein without altering taste or texture. The best thing would be to encourage him to eat just what he fancies...all my husband fancied at times was cereal, the consultant said eat cereal then.

My husband also suffered from the funny taste in his mouth...he said it was metallic and food was tasteless...everything had to have a rich sauce or gravy (with procal powders added).

Vx

[jenjen80]

Hi Veema,

Ahh did you, thats good to know. I will also get some of the procal powder too. My dad has also asked my mum to make things with plenty of sauce too as he said food needs to be moist so that it can help to digest better and move through his system.

Jen x