Weight loss

How can I prevent or stop weight loss?

Though you may have seen images of much-too-skinny people with cancer in movies and TV shows, it’s actually less common for people with breast cancer to lose extreme amounts of weight during treatment today. This is largely because of improvements in preventing some of the side effects that make eating hard.

If breast cancer treatments are making you nauseous or causing you to vomit, tell your healthcare providers. They may be able to put you on anti-nausea medicine at the same time as you begin treatment to prevent these side effects. Anti-nausea medicines have helped many people with cancer avoid feeling sick or vomiting throughout their treatment.

If mouth sores are keeping you from eating, talk to your doctor about medicines that can help ease the pain they may be causing. You can also try these practical tips to choose foods that are less likely to make mouth sores feel worse.

It’s normal to feel a range of tough emotions after a breast cancer diagnosis, including sadness, anxiety and anger. But if stress or difficult emotions are getting in the way of your day-to-day life, and stopping you from doing basic things like eating, you may have a mood or anxiety disorder, like depression. Anxiety and depression are serious medical conditions that should be treated by a mental health professional. Talk to your healthcare providers. They should be able to recommend a mental health professional with experience treating people with cancer.

Some tips to maintain or raise your weight:

• Choose calorie-dense foods like avocados, nut butters, creams, mayonnaise and oils. Cooking in rich oils such as coconut oil or avocado oil can greatly increase your calories per day.
• It may be easier to drink, rather than eat, your calories if you feel nauseous. Try making a high-calorie, protein-heavy shake with supplemental drinks such as Ensure or Boost, ice cream, nut butters, protein powders and fruit.

Your healthcare providers can also connect you with a registered dietician, who can help you manage your weight and what you eat.