Hi,

I haven't had pancreatic cancer but I have had acute pancreatitis (after a failed ERCP to remove a stone in my bile duct) and I suffered the same symptoms as your husband. I couldn't eat for months as I didn't feel empty or hungry. The thought of, sight of & smell of food made it worse. I too was on food supplements (Fortisip and Fortijuice) and at my worst (I lost 4 stone) I was drinking 3 a day. I was lucky in that one day I suddenly felt hungry - as if someone had flicked a switch. 

It takes a long time for the pancreas to recover (I'm assuming your husband is having treatment). Has the hospital or his GP referred him to the hospital or community dietician? They really should do that before the weight loss becomes a big concern. My gastro consultant was of no use but he referred me to the hospital dietician whilst I was in hospital. Once I was home my GP then referred me to the community dietician as I was still losing weight. If your husband isn't currently in hospital, get your GP to do a referral now as the community dieticians take a while to get back to you.

Meanwhile, don't try and give your husband too much food - little and often, otherwise it will put him off. High calorie food is what you are aiming for - rice pudding made from full cream, cereal and hot drinks with full fat milk (hot chocolate is good), a crumpet with butter and honey etc. No fatty or processed meats as the pancreas finds them hard to digest when it's damaged. Lean chicken or fish is best. Try a fruit smoothie, yoghurt etc. I existed on malt loaf with butter (the only thing I enjoyed), boiled sweets to suck (calories in sugar) and half a fish finger sandwich sometimes! To make the drinks more palatable I put full fat vanilla ice cream in the dairy based Fortisip (which is just like Ensure) or lemonade in the Fortijuice. My husband cooks in our house & he learned to take the lead from me, asking what I would like as a 'snack' meal. One day he made me a small Yorkshire pudding with a tiny bit of gravy & I managed to eat it because it was small - anything larger would have put me off immediately. 

I hope your husband's treatment helps him & hopefully his appetite will come back slowly. Good luck to you both,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)

Hi,

I haven't had pancreatic cancer but I have had acute pancreatitis (after a failed ERCP to remove a stone in my bile duct) and I suffered the same symptoms as your husband. I couldn't eat for months as I didn't feel empty or hungry. The thought of, sight of & smell of food made it worse. I too was on food supplements (Fortisip and Fortijuice) and at my worst (I lost 4 stone) I was drinking 3 a day. I was lucky in that one day I suddenly felt hungry - as if someone had flicked a switch. 

It takes a long time for the pancreas to recover (I'm assuming your husband is having treatment). Has the hospital or his GP referred him to the hospital or community dietician? They really should do that before the weight loss becomes a big concern. My gastro consultant was of no use but he referred me to the hospital dietician whilst I was in hospital. Once I was home my GP then referred me to the community dietician as I was still losing weight. If your husband isn't currently in hospital, get your GP to do a referral now as the community dieticians take a while to get back to you.

Meanwhile, don't try and give your husband too much food - little and often, otherwise it will put him off. High calorie food is what you are aiming for - rice pudding made from full cream, cereal and hot drinks with full fat milk (hot chocolate is good), a crumpet with butter and honey etc. No fatty or processed meats as the pancreas finds them hard to digest when it's damaged. Lean chicken or fish is best. Try a fruit smoothie, yoghurt etc. I existed on malt loaf with butter (the only thing I enjoyed), boiled sweets to suck (calories in sugar) and half a fish finger sandwich sometimes! To make the drinks more palatable I put full fat vanilla ice cream in the dairy based Fortisip (which is just like Ensure) or lemonade in the Fortijuice. My husband cooks in our house & he learned to take the lead from me, asking what I would like as a 'snack' meal. One day he made me a small Yorkshire pudding with a tiny bit of gravy & I managed to eat it because it was small - anything larger would have put me off immediately. 

I hope your husband's treatment helps him & hopefully his appetite will come back slowly. Good luck to you both,

Angie (Stage 3 melanoma patient since 2009)