My dad and weight loss.

My dad is 70, and was diagnosed with throat cancer in January 2023. Since then, he’s had radiotherapy on his throat and scans. Unfortunately the scans show that the cancer has spread to his bones, liver, lungs and kidneys. He had three sessions of immunotherapy, which unfortunately made his thyroid bad. He’s rapidly losing weight and even though he has ensures, I’m not convinced he’s having them. He also has an extremely dry mouth which I assume is from the morphine. My question is, who am I best contacting about this? I think he possibly might need to be admitted into hospital to put weight on. 

  • Hi and thanks for posting. I would suggest contact his GP and ask for a dietician referral, may also benefit from a gp or hospital check to make sure his dry mouth isn't a fungal infection or side effects from treatment. Artificial saliva spray from Amazon can also help.

  • He’s seen a dietician but they say to just keep having his ensures. This week especially he has seemed to decline. I’ve got a saliva substitute arriving today from Amazon so fingers crossed. I think I will ring the GP on Monday to see if they’ll visit him to have a check up. Thank you! 

  • Hello and thank you for your post.

    I am sorry to hear about your dad's situation and I can appreciate the concern you have for him.

    It does sound like your dad would benefit from a referral to a community palliative care team, these may be known locally as the Macmillan team or it could be the district nurses providing this service. I mention them because they are experts at improving the symptoms of cancer.  Your dad's hospital team, such as his clinical nurse specialist, could discuss this with you and can refer him, as can his GP.

    We have information on our website about coping at home that may be useful for you to read as it lists the different services that may be helpful to you and your dad. 

    Unfortunately, weight loss is a feature of advanced cancer and I am sorry to say that it might not be possible to put much weight on for your dad.  We have information about weight loss  and tips for putting weight on. on our website. I hope it is useful to read.

    I hope you have some support, please do know that you may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Take care,

    Caroline