What should patients with advanced cancer do if they have anorexia?

In movies and TV series, we often see scenes like the heroine suffering from leukemia and the hero suffering from brain tumor. They all have pale faces, faint from time to time, and eventually lie on the hospital bed dying. Suffering from a malignant tumor is not only helpless, but also sad.

But in reality, it is not as miserable and helpless as the heroes and heroines in TV and movies. With the continuous development of science and technology, medical technologies and means are emerging in an endless stream. Although the incidence of cancer patients in our country is increasing year by year, most patients can still get good treatment and a good quality of life, and can even survive with tumors for a long time. Of course, we also found that some patients with advanced cancer have no better treatment and can only receive palliative care to complete the last journey of their lives. In the last stage of life, most of these patients have no appetite and rely on infusion to supplement nutrition every day. So, apart from infusion, is there no way for us to get patients to eat more? The answer is no. Today we will list some ways to improve it.

Seek help from a professional nutritionist.

Professional nutritionists can provide practical nutritional advice to patients and their families, telling them how to consume high-protein, high-nutrition and high-calorie foods, how to choose foods, and how to avoid unproven dietary advice. Through professional guidance and reasonable and effective eating, the quality of life of patients can be improved, and their nutritional status can be improved.

Consider enteral and parenteral nutrition.

If the patient cannot meet their oral needs, enteral nutrition is recommended, such as placement of a nasogastric tube, nasointestinal tube, or gastrostomy tube. If the patient has contraindications to enteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition should be strengthened. The overall recommendation is that enteral nutrition should be prioritized, supplemented by parenteral nutrition, and both internal and external nutrition should assist each other.

Pharmacological intervention.

Progesterone drugs: Progesterone can improve the patient's appetite and increase food intake. The commonly used drug in clinical practice is megestrol acetate tablets, which can be taken orally once a day. However, it should be noted that its side effects include edema, thromboembolism, etc. It is recommended to use it under the guidance of a physician.

Glucocorticoids: They have a wide range of effects. Cancer patients can use glucocorticoids not only to improve appetite, but also to relieve pain. However, if used for a long time, you need to pay attention to its adverse reactions. It is recommended to use it in a short term and at a low dose.

Prokinetic drugs: This type of drugs includes domperidone, mosapride, metoclopramide, etc. It is still recommended to use them under the guidance of clinical physicians and pharmacists.

Amomorelin: It is a peptide hormone containing 28 amino acids that promotes the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland, thereby increasing appetite in healthy people.

Traditional Chinese Medicine: Based on the patient's symptoms, tongue and pulse, dialectical use of Chinese medicine, such as Bazhen Decoction, can help enhance body mass.

Physical exercise Studies have shown that exercise can improve the quality of life by regulating the expression of cytokines, increasing insulin sensitivity, improving protein synthesis efficiency, enhancing immune response, etc. Patients are advised to exercise appropriately, such as slow walking and Tai Chi, if their physical condition allows.

Psychological interventions

Many cancer patients are self-denial and unwilling to accept the reality when they find the tumor, or they have psychological pain and pessimistic thoughts during the cancer treatment due to the side effects of the treatment. At this time, timely psychological intervention is very necessary. Some studies have shown that the use of the Macmillan method for psychosocial intervention can relieve patients' discomfort symptoms, such as anorexia. Psychological intervention can not only improve patients' psychological and physical discomfort, but also comfort patients' families.

Tips

It is recommended to eat small and frequent meals. Normally, three meals a day can be changed to five meals a day.

It is recommended that the food be as colorful, fragrant and delicious as possible, and that seasonings be used appropriately.

You can take a proper walk and massage your abdomen before meals to enhance gastrointestinal motility.

Improve constipation. Pay attention to the intake of water, vegetables, fruits and high-fiber foods.