Hi from the Cancer Nurseline Nurses

Hi Nurse Aileen,
My Dad had his last chemo on the 9th of March 2020 but is still feeling very ill in the mornings. He is on a medication for the sickness but has lost a lot of weight which is a major concern for him and my Mam. He is not having anymore chemo until June as per advice from his doctor. Can you give me any advice on how I could help him. It is hard on both my parents as we can only correspond with them from a distance.
Thank you
Caroline

Dear Caroline

I am sorry to hear your Dad feels very unwell in the mornings. You or your parents could ring our Nurseline to discuss this further. It may be that there are other reasons for this symptom either way we would recommend he phones his oncology nurse who will know his full medical history and also whether he might benefit from a different anti sick medication/whether constipation is contributing to the problem or anything else.

Meanwhile it may help your Dad to eat bland things easy to digest like crackers/toast/pretzels in the morning when he is sitting up and to avoid greasy spicy sugary foods with strong smell Also might be better to limit drinks at the same time as eating as they might fill him up-eating little and often of nourishing snacks high in calories and protein as suggested in our Diet and Cancer book here Taking fluids slowly is better/can be nice to freeze high calorie drinks/smoothies in little lollipop containers/ice cube containers. Flat  ginger ale or including ginger in meals may help to soothe nausea.

The anxiety around weight loss can be exacerbated when so much focus is put on food-sometimes to remove the weighing scales/get trousers that fit his current weight etc is better. Fresh air and even a little exercise can help to lessen anxiety and stimulate appetite. Anxiety can play a huge part in managing nausea and maybe the link to Dr. Paul Dalton's managing anxiety here might be helpful.

It is very hard on you all especially with the restrictions around the corona virus but we are here on the Nurseline and your parents oncology team and GP are available too. Our counselling services is available to your parents if they would like us to arrange this through our Nurseline at 1800 200 700.  They would speak to our counsellor by phone or video link .

Kind regards

Cancer Nurse | Irish Cancer Society.