Every morning, Dennis Cronin eats the exact same breakfast: two hard-boiled eggs and some谷蛋白-free bread. It’s a routine that Cronin, who wasdiagnosed with pancreatic cancerin 2010 at age 43, knows he can count on to keep his energy up and digestive woes at bay.
Cronin, a healthcare executive in Pittsburgh, has been cancer-free since undergoing surgery to remove his tumor. But the effects of his disease andtreatment— which involved the removal of 80 percent of hispancreasalong with hisgallbladderand spleen, pluschemotherapyandradiation— have permanently altered his approach to nutrition. The father of two was 195 pounds when he received hiscancer diagnosisbut withered to a low of 120 pounds in the months after surgery. That was before he figured out how to cope with his rerouted digestive system.
“I’d love to say I just have amazing willpower,” Cronin says. “The reality is, my health forced me there. But one of the really significant keys when you’re trying to battle your way back from these digestive and nutritional problems is to develop a level of consistency in your diet.”
How Pancreatic Cancer Challenges Your Digestive System
Certain nutritional issues are unique topancreatic cancerregardless of treatment, including lack of appetite, pain during and after meals, the need to replace lostpancreatic enzymes, and digestive upsets, such as nausea, vomiting,bloating,heartburn, diarrhea, andconstipation.
“The pancreas helps break down food for nourishment,” explainsVictoria Manax Rutson, MD, chief medical officer for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). “There are a lot of intestinal connections with the pancreas, and when those connections are disrupted, it will have an effect on your eating.”
Of course, lack of appetite and difficulty keeping food down will lead to weight loss. Dr. Rutson urges patients to do everything possible to maintain their weight so they don’t unnecessarily sacrifice the muscle mass and strength so crucial to fighting any form of cancer. “Without the proper nutrients,” she says, “patients will be tired and won’t feel well, and it can compromise their overall health.”
Careful collaboration between patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers can prevent or offset many of these problems. Cronin has sought guidance from a “wider network of professionals,” he says, including a dietitian. He considers his collaborators — including his wife, Kathy — as critical to his recovery and well-being.
“Pancreatic cancer is such a harsh disease with a low survival rate, if you don’t have the right caregivers and clinicians steering things, you’re not going to be successful,” he says. “Before I got on the right path, I continued changing my medication and trying to retain my food until a dietitian removed alldairy, gluten, and processedsugarfrom my diet.”
7 Tips for the Table
Rutson and Cronin offer these pointers for boosting nutrition:
- Work with a dietitian.一个n individualized approach from a professional can help determine what dietary tweaks work best for your digestive system.
- Eat small, frequent meals.Six to eight meals and snacks each day, spaced a couple hours apart, seem to work well for many patients.
- Love your liquids.一个im for eight 8-ounce glasses of water or other beverages daily, to help digestion and lessenfatigue and nausea. Beverages dense in calories, such as smoothies, can help keep your weight up.
- Watch your fats.Eating fats can help you maintain your weight. Pancreatic cancer patients typically do best with healthy fats, such as olive oil,avocados, nuts, and seeds. Avoid greasy, fried, and heavy foods.
- Limit raw fruits and vegetables.Too much fibercan lead to diarrhea and “dumping syndrome,” where undigested food passes through the system within minutes.
- Take pancreatic enzymes with meals.Frequent cramping, bloating, and gas can signal pancreatic enzyme insufficiency, a condition particularly relevant to patients who undergo Whipple surgery to remove part of the pancreas. Doctors can prescribe enzyme supplements to help you digest fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
- Keep a food diary.Caregivers can help with this task, Rutson says. You can also use the diary to record your weight, the amount of pancreatic enzymes you take, and the frequency and consistency of your bowel movements.
