Recipes for people affected by cancer

[honeybee13]

This has affected two family members recently.

 

The Macmillan website has come up with recipes donated by various people involved with treating cancer.

 

They know that cancer patients don't always feel like eating and that chemo affects your taste buds and the recipes are designed to be nutritious, tasty and tempting.

 

I hope the link is useful. HB

 

http://be.macmillan.org.uk/downloads/CancerInformation/LivingWithAndAfterCancer/MAC11668RecipesDD20120813.pdf

[honeybee13]

This is from the Royal Marsden hospital about trying to gain or not lose weight and managing to eat when you don't feel hungry.

 

http://www.royalmarsden.nhs.uk/cancer-information/living/eating-well/pages/poor-appetite-losing-weight.aspx

 

HB

[nolegion]

Good stuff, HB. Both my parents are still with us, just - but they look as if they have lived on air for several years.

 

Once, at that age in particular, I think, weight gets knocked off through lack of appetite during treatment (inc. for cancer in one of their cases) and so forth, it seems it's very difficult to get them to put it back on again.

 

And muscle wastage leads to mobility problems, which leads to other complications, which leads to loss of appetite etc. etc.

[honeybee13]

Hi NL. Yes, you're right, as we both know life is tough in your 80s.

 

But people of all ages get cancer and one of the people I'm thinking of isn't much older than me. It's important to keep your strength up if you possibly can though, and tempting recipes can help.

 

HB

[Conniff]

Two good methods of adding weight is hot toast buttered immediately it's taken from the toaster and then a lot of butter will soak in.

And, fried bread with poached eggs. You can always present it as a healthy meal as the eggs are poached, but the good stuff is in the fried bread.

[honeybee13]

Agreed, Conniff, thank you for that.

 

From what I've understood though, people with cancer don't always want the foods they used to like, especially if they're on chemo treatment. If I'm off colour, I don't always want buttery dishes.

 

I'm hoping that the links will show how to tempt someone who isn't hungry to eat something.

 

HB

[think about it]

Brilliant idea, just flicking through that recipe book and thinking to myself, that looks nice, so does that, and that.... Etc etc

 

I'm lucky to never have experienced the fight in a very close relative nor indeed myself but know that little things like enjoying a meal can go a long way to making someone feel good again whilst they're unwell.