Radiotherapy - advice on if I let Dad sleep or make sure he feeds

Hi,

My dad is on his final week of radiotherapy and tends to spend more time when he gets back from hospital snoozing - my question is, do I let him snooze/sleep or make sure I wake him up to feed using his peg?

I know he needs rest, but am obviously worried about him losing anymore weight as he's underweight as it is.

Any advice gratefully received 

Dee

  • Hello and thank you for posting

    I am sorry to hear about Dad.

    Tiredness and fatigue is a very common side effect of radiotherapy. People can feel exhausted and sleep a lot and it can be hard to wake them up sometimes. You can feel guilty that you are disturbing their rest and recovery. Waking cancer patients up for food and fluids is essential during treatment, so waking Dad for his peg feed is important to ensure he keeps up with nutrition, which will help his body with the effects of the radiotherapy.

    Finding the balance of allowing rest, but also letting Dad know you will be waking him up for food and drink is the routine that's needed.

    Do have a read of our pages on managing diet problems with cancer that may be helpful to you.

    Take care and if you want to call us to talk any of this through with the nurses on the helpline the number to call is 0808 800 4040. Lines are open mon-fri, 9-5pm.

    Sarah.