After surgery, your stomach will be smaller (or completely removed) and you will feel full more quickly after a meal. You may not feel like eating or you may have lost your sense of taste. You may also have trouble swallowing or pain. It is important to maintain your weight to avoid malnutrition. Even a small drop in weight (e.g. 3–4 kg), particularly over a short period of time, can slow down your recovery.
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can cause nausea, irritation to the oesophagus or a sore mouth. These side effects may make eating uncomfortable.
Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can cause nausea, irritation to the oesophagus or a sore mouth. These side effects may make eating uncomfortable.
How to prevent unplanned weight loss
- Have a snack or small meal every 2–3 hours if you have lost your appetite and don’t feel hungry.
- Keep a variety of snacks handy (e.g. in your bag or car).
- Eat when you feel hungry or crave certain foods. Eat slowly and stop and rest when you are full.
- Avoid filling up on liquids at mealtimes, unless it’s a hearty soup, so you have room for nourishing food.
- Try eating different foods to see if your taste and tolerance for some foods have changed.
- Try to drink fluids that add energy (kilojoules), such as milk, milkshakes, smoothies or nutritional supplement drinks recommended by your dietitian.
- Prevent dehydration by drinking fluids between meals (30–60 minutes before or after meals).
- Ask your dietitian how you can increase your energy and protein intake.
- It may be helpful to use a food diary to keep a record of how you react to certain foods. As your dietitian about this.
→ READ MORE: Swallowing difficulties
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Key resource
Download a PDF booklet on this topic.
Prof David I Watson, Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor of Surgery, Flinders University, and Senior Consultant Surgeon, Oesophago-Gastric Surgery Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Prof Bryan Burmeister, Senior Radiation Oncologist, GenesisCare Fraser Coast and Hervey Bay Hospital, QLD; Kieran Cahill, Consumer; Jessica Jong, Clinical Dietitian, Upper GI and Hepatobiliary Services, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; John Leung, Consumer; Prof Rajvinder Singh, Professor of Medicine, University of Adelaide, and Director, Gastroenterology Department and Head of Endoscopy, Lyell McEwin Hospital, SA; Dr Sarah Sutherland, Medical Oncologist, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Paula Swannock, Upper GI Cancer Nurse Consultant, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, VIC; Rebecca Yeoh, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council Queensland.
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