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please help, my husband was diagnosed with larngeal cancer in 07 after radiation was given a clean bill of health, awoke back in june to cough that broke his rib from the spine area after several doctors treating for back problems, we found it was larngeal cancer that had moved to the rib and lung area. has taken 1 round of chemo lost 65 pounds and cannot eat, please any one any suggestions i need help he cant hardley eat anything, thanks joyce
Dear Joyce,
As I am not at all familiar with laryngeal cancer, I can only offer you my emotional support, and direct you to the link below, which has some basic info online at the Cancer Center. Not a lot there, sorry to say.
http://www.cancercenter.com/laryngeal-cancer/nutritional-therapy.cfm
As this is a critical issue, and you are alarmed, as anyone would be, can you contact your doctor for guidance? If he is unable to eat, he may need some medical intervention to sustain him at this point.
Does your husband's oncologist/cancer team have a nutritionist who can guide you? As I am not sure if swallowing issues are also a factor in his inability to eat, or if the chemo caused nausea, I don't want to give you incorrect ideas.
Also, as he may have problems with milk products and mucus, things like high fat dairy products or other "normal foods" that might have high calories may be hazardous to him. This is why I think you need to be working with your doctor closely.
I know how terrifying it is to watch your husband lose so much weight, and feel utterly helpless to stop it. Though mine has lost about 40+ pounds, and is very thin, he fortunately just stopped dropping pounds last week. He is on a restricted vegetarian diet, no meats or sugar, so it is hard to find fattening foods for him. All so very scary.
I am so sorry you are both going through all this, and will keep you in my prayers. Be strong, and take care...
Peggy
If hubby can not eat for the moment, have you considered a temporary feeding tube? It sounds traumatic but when you really look at the benefits it has it is not so bad, a very tiny hole is put right through into the stomach, not much discomfot as it will be all numb and then a tiny feeding tube can go into the stomach, liquid feedings can be given in small amounts or as a bolus large feeding each day. Then when the treatments for this cancer get going well, and the cancer stops growing, and is in control again usually these feeding tubes can come out again. Ask about them. I used to take care of people who had them in temporarily, and some chose to keep them active in case they had problems in the future with eating. If you look at it as a temporary measure to get his health back up to good again, he may not think of it as such a nuisance, or scare him. He can look at it as an aid to his healing process.
Just something that has to be done to assist him while he is going through his treatments. I am sure once he gets good nutrition, he will be able to fight much easier as he will regain some strength.
God bless, and good luck. Sandy
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