Why cancer patients don't have appetite?

[ITC]

Is there any way to ensure cancer patients eat?

[ty t]

they dont eat because radiation and chemotherapy kills their appetite.

yes smoking marijuana increases appetite.

[meghan m]

I know when my Grandma was going thru cancer treatments (half anf half chemo/radiation) the week that she was going through the treatment it wouldn't effect her as much, but the week after she would be very fatigued/sick...I believe its the drugs that they give you the side effects are loss of appetite/vomiting...it was horrible because she had stomach cancer so she wasn't really into eatting anyways...I'd have to watch her to make sure she'd eat some toast and have some water...there was a while there where it felt like everytime we turned around we were taking her to the hospital for de-hydration because she would refuse food and water for days on end.

Luckily she's in remission and is doing MUCH better!

[Nurse Susan]

1] pain - quite an effective appetite suppresant
2] mouth sores - hurts to bite, chew, swallow
3] fatigue - food is not worth the effort of eating it
4] nausea - food? ugh!
5] indigestion - EVERYTHING gave me indigestion - even water - meat and dairy were inedible during chemo [ lost 40 pounds in 5 months ]
6] altered taste - all raw veggies had no flavor [ like chewing on a piece of grass ]; meat tasted like the minerals it was made of, and blood - GROSS [ even well done ]; most baked goods tasted like ingredients [ pie - flavorless filling - berries or apples - flour, water, and lard! ICK! ]