On 7/16/2008
Kiwi07 wrote:
Kia Ora from New Zealand, My Dad has just been diagnosed with Bile Duct Cancer, he is 56 and has 6 loving children, my youngest brother is 6 and I am 38! We have been trying to understand this terrible disease and get our heads around what it all means. Its been 3 months since we were first told and since then it has been a rollercoatser - at times we have been given false hopes and Dad had surgery- but unfortunatly they were unable to remove the cancer and found that it has spread to his lymph node by his heart. we are still waiting for the next step - apparently chemo. During the waiting period my Dad - who has never been sick before now and is a fit strong and hardworking man is now reduced to the couch with little energy and unable to eat much. His appetitie is gone and as he finds it hard to sleep he is losing energy each day. My question is where do I find help with trying to feed him foods that will support & nurture him.
My Dads is the strongest man I know and I still find it unbelievable that this is actually happening, I am hoping to find out how I can help him through this journey he is now on.
Hi Kiwi,
Your dad may have decreased appetite due to blockage and build-up of bile salts in the stomach and intestine, and also the liver. Decreased dietary intake certainly will cause loss of energy, but he could also be getting a physical rebound from the emotional/mental/spiritual toll of everything he's been through in a short period of time.
There is a diet that used to be prescribed often for people with digestive problems because it is mild, easy to digest, and provides very complete nutrition. It is called the BRAT diet: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. I think it could be an excellent start for your dad to get his appetite and energy back, and in the meantime provide some very powerful cancer fighting nutrients.
Let him eat as much or little as he wants, but encourage him to eat at least a little bit of each of the 4 foods often. Bananas can be a little hard on an empty stomach, so encourage him to eat a little dry toast when he has banana - even if it is a bite or two of each. Mixing the bananas in with warm rice will also do the trick. Make sure the bananas are ripe rather than green, but not overripe, as the very high sugar content of an overripe banana may actually decrease his appetite rather than boost it.
Any kind of applesauce will do, but at first should be very bland - no added sugar or cinnamon or raisins, etc. Apples are very high in anti-oxidants and some other cancer fighting compounds, as well as being nutritious. Plus applesauce provides needed fiber and helps to hydrate. He may want it cold, he may want it warm. If he wants it warm, try leaving a small bowl of it sitting out where he can easily get to it without asking. That way he won't feel like he is a bother to anyone. You just have to make sure he doesn't get applesauce that has sat out long enough to spoil.
I recommend long-grain brown rice, but whatever kind he will eat is fine. Start him on the rice without any sauces or spices - or butter. Just plain rice until he asks for more. Once he starts wanting more flavor, try some thin gravy, whatever kind he wants, not too salty. I would wait quite a while before putting anything spicier into his food. Once cooked, rice also can sit out for a while without going bad, so you might try doing the small readily available bowl with the rice, too.
At least at first you probably will have more success with dry toast than with butter or other toppings. Or you could substitue dry unsalted or very-lightly salted cracker. These too can be left out in small amounts so that he can easily eat when he is hungry.
If the BRAT diet helps, let him stay on it as long as he wants - don't worry about adding other things - he'll get lots of nutrition from just these four foods, and he'll let you know when he is ready to progress.
Make sure he's getting fluids - either pure water or green tea, if he will drink it. (Other teas are good, too, but green tea is an especially powerful cancer fighter and detoxifier.) I recommend decaffeinated tea - he needs hydration as well as nutrients, and caffeine's diuretic action is not good for him right now. If he will drink rooibos (red bush tea), that is also a good choice, but it's pretty powerful, so until he starts eating more I would limit to 6 - 8 ounces of rooibos a day. If he needs sweetener for tea, just a little bit of honey, agave, molasses, fructose, or raw sugar. Or stevia, but very very tiny amounts so it doesn't affect his appetite. Stay away from refined white or brown sugar. And absolutely no artificial sugar substitutes.
Supplementing with papaya and pineapple enzymes (bromelain) might well help him regain his appetite, and may be helpful to stimulate bile flow through very congested areas. They are also useful for eating away the protein coverings of cancer cells so that cancer fighting nutrients can get to the nucleus of the cancer cells and help kill them. Once he starts eating again, fresh papaya and pineapple are the very best way to get these enzymes, but in the meantime supplementation with tablets or wafers will do the job. Follow the directions on the label. Papaya wafers should always be chewed, while bromelain should be swallowed whole.
(A lot of people say patients with cancer shouldn't have sugar of any kind, including fruit, but your dad needs the nutrients and he needs the energy, however he can get it. The fructose in natural fruit is a far cry different from added sugars and sweeteners, and in my book the cancer-fighting benefits of many natural fruits far outweigh the risk of the fructose.)
Papaya extract is also an excellent remedy for an upset stomach, heartburn, and nausea: 2 - 3 wafers chewed as soon as symptoms occur works wonders for many people, and an occasional as-needed dose should be ok when taken in addition to regular dosing without causing side effects.
Do whatever you can to raise your dad's spirits, but be careful not to be offering false hope. He's going to have to work out how he feels about this cancer on his own. The fact of having his family there when he needs them will go a long way to helping him achieve this goal. Humor is perhaps the most powerful natural healer known to man, so use whatever humor you find as often as you can find it to show him that you love him and help to reassure him that with the passage of time he can start to pick himself up and be more active in moving forward through the next steps, whatever they may be.
And please remember to take good care of yourselves, too. Broken caregivers are no good to the patient!!
Wishing all of you the very best,
Tre