Pancreas Cancer

I'm sorry that this finds you on the board in search of answers for your friend. The group is a wonderful source of practical information and a great emotional support from people who are living it every day.

To respond to your questions, I have posted a bio on the bio section and that answers most of the things you asked about. If you haven't been to the bio board yet, there is a link on each of the main message pages (Patient/Caregiver Bio Board). Since I updated my bio the treatment I was on failed and my body has become quite worn out from all the chemo. For the time being I have stopped treatment and am starting to feel better. I'm not sure if I will start chemo again but have been thinking about cisplatin.

As far as appetite, after chemo I would get what we called the 'yucky stomach.' This lasted for about three days or so. Nothing on the planet sounded good to me and eating was a struggle. Cold or room temperature foods seemed most appealing, but that probably varies from patient to patient. I tried very hard to eat high calorie foods, not skimping on butter, cheese, ice cream, etc. when my stomach started to feel better. I was determined not to lose weight while on chemo and literally forced myself to eat some days. Good friends of mine (who own a deli) plied with me with tasty, ready-to-eat meals and a never-ending supply of strawberry cheesecake. The results was I gained over 10 pounds! My husband was also a help in keeping my weight up and would pick up or prepare anything I felt I could eat.

Megace is another option and although I never used it, it apparently stimulates appetite. There may be other treatments so if you haven't posted this specific question to the board you might. It is a common people with folks on chemo. If your friend continues to have problems or loses weight the doctor should be made aware of it. Take care - robin f

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