Help! Throwing Everything Up! What To Do???

My dad, 54 yrs old, is in the last stages of lung cancer, which has spread to liver and bones. In the past few days, he has not been able to keep anything down, and I am getting very afraid. He hasn't had any nutrition in 3 days. He is taking nausea medication but it is not working. The only thing he can keep down right now is root beer. I tried ensure, pedialite, nothing staying down. Any suggestions??? If this keeps up he will be in real trouble.....Thank You and God Bless
Bessie

Dear Elizabeth,

Malnutrition presents a major threat to cancer recovery. You have good reason to be worried about the inability to keep food down. If anti-nausea medications aren't working (and you have tried several different brands), I would suggest you ask the doctor to consider advanced nutritional support. IV feeding is medically indicated for individuals who are unable to digest foods/intractible vomiting for greater than ten days OR for individuals who are wasting away and can't tolerate tube feedings. Please seek the advice of a nutritionist near you to facilitate this dialogue between your father, the doctor and other caregivers.

Healthy Regards,

Kim Dalzell, PhD, RD, LD
Program Director, Holistic Nutrition Services
Author, Challenge Cancer and Win!

You may try green tea (1 cup a day) and mint tea throughout the day. I know these helped me when nothing else would. The green tea helps the whole digestive track and the mint tea helps to settle the stomach. Sipping Coca-Cola may help as well. I hope this helps.

Hi Kim,

I know your message is over one year old, but i am hoping that you get this. My name is Tracy N. and I live in Palatine, IL. My mom has metastatic breast cancer in her liver. She gets very ill pretty frequently, and often can't eat for many days at a time without vomiting. The anti-nausea medicine sometimes helps. Her doctor doesn't seem to believe that it's related to the cancer, but I disagree. Her only treatment is in the form of a pill called Arimidex. Do you have any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you so much for your time.

Regards,

Tracy

Dear Tracy,

Thank you for writing to me. I can tell you are very concerned about your mother. No doubt, she is frustrated and feeling a bit hopeless.

Vomiting can be painful and cause throat discomfort. Rootbeer barrels or throat spray can help. If vomiting persists, I fear your mother will be at risk for dehydration. Do not reach for Gatorade or other high sugar Sports drinks (too much sugar may impact immune response). Choose fruit juices (dilute if you have to) or nectars. Drink broth. Try 100% frozen fruit bars. The point is to keep hydrated!

I believe that your mother's difficulties are due to the treatment, or at least the cancer process. Since the liver is responsible for detoxification, cancerous lesions may be keeping this organ from functioning properly. Additionally, your mother may have developed a food aversion, which is psychological phenomenon whereby she associates cancer treatment symptoms with certain (or many) foods. This makes it impossible to enjoy those foods for a while.

In my book Challenge Cancer and Win!, you will find natural therapies for all kinds of intestinal disorders related to cancer treatment; there are also suggestions for healthy convenient foods so that on low energy days your mom can still eat healthy without much effort; there is also a chapter on dietary supplements (including recommendations for liver detoxification). Finally, you can view a free chapter relating to detoxification by diet on my website.

If you are interested in individualized nutrition recommendations for your mother, you can contact Cancer Resource Center to find out more about this service. They can be reached at 800.940.2822.

Best of luck with your mother. I've seen many advanced stage cancer patients do quite well with nutritional therapy. We just need to get your mom to eat and drink a bit more!

Kim Dalzell, PhD, RD, LD
Director, Holistic Nutrition Services
Author, Challenge Cancer and Win!
www.challengecancer.com