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How much weight is lost during chemo and radiation?
Asked by dbain1990 on Saturday, July 21, 2012
How much weight is lost during chemo and radiation?
12 Answers from the Community
nancyjac
No one answer to that. Would be no different as in any other circumstances. Some people lose, some gain, some stay the same. Some lose or gain on purpose, some not. I pretty much lost and regained the same 5 pounds each cycle of chemo and my weight stayed the same during radiation.
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over 8 years agoshineon6
I was surprised to have gained 25 lbs. the anti nausea steroids helped me to do that. It depends on the person, and the type of treatment. I don' t think I had ever had a guilt free milkshake till radiation . It soothed the burning I experienced. Good luck!
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over 8 years agosbeck08
I gained weight bc of the steroids I am on. And I it is a lot of weight, like 70 pounds. I am hungry all the time but like somebody else said it just depends on the drugs and how your body reacts to them.
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over 8 years agoIvy
Perhaps I have been lucky, but my weight has been about the same--up a few pounds, down a few pounds--throughout 4 cycles of chemotherapy.
Several doctors have told me that even if you'd like to lose weight overall, it isn't wise to try to do so during chemotherapy. The chemotherapy harms certain types of healthy cells in your body, and if you're also losing weight, then your body has to pull what it needs from tissues (muscles and such) that shouldn't be diminished. In fact, my endocrinologist told me that probably I should be eating more than usual to supply the body with nutrients lost due tp chemotherapy effects on the body. For a person who needs ultimately to lose weight, this is a rather foreign thought, but it is obviously an important one.
So, remaining stable is the best answer, but unfortunately, it isn't possible for everyone.
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over 8 years agoFreeBird
It's a little different for my dad, because his type of cancer affects his appetite. He has lost about 10% of his body weight so far. With his previous cancer, most of his weight loss came from his surgery, and he did okay through chemo. I am not familiar with endometrial cancer. In general, it depends on how your chemo drugs affect your appetite and desire to eat. If they give you a steroid during your chemo, that helps to increase your appetite.
The cancer center advised that chemo time is not the time to diet-- that he should try to maintain weight the best he can.
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over 8 years agoCountryGirl
I will post because my answer is so different from the others and demonstrates just how much weightloss varies according to the individual and treatment. I lost 35 pounds.
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over 8 years agoBashiemn
I'll be honest - I wish I had lost weight with my chemotherapy, but i didn't. I gained as well - 40 lbs. I read somewhere that if you struggled with weight (i.e. if you were overweight and struggled with losing weight) before chemo, you were likely to gain during chemo - the average was 25 lbs. This was very frustrating for me and I brought it up every time I met with my Physician's Assistant, and she as well as the nurses just said they don't worry about weight gain during chemo, because it means you are eating and able to keep food down.
Bummer, because now I have to figure out how to lose it, and I had to go out and buy all new clothes so that they fit.
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over 8 years agodbain1990
Thank you all for the responses. They helped a lot. I currently am struggling with losing weight. I have been heavy all my life and I've lost 120 lbs in a year. So hopefully I will maintain my weight loss and will continue losing when I go into remission. Once again thank you all.
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over 8 years agoMoonflay
No nausea and no particular change in appetite for me. I've been struggling to maintain my weight for some time now. I weighed between 100 -110 lbs before chemo. I eat consistently now to keep the body replenished. My weight is fairly stable at 105 lbs. I wouldn't mind gaining some weight and I definitely do not want to lose any. Chocolate milkshakes rule! :)
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over 8 years agoStatto
I was "hopeful" at the beginning of chemo that I would drop some weight...I needed to lose about 40 lbs. but instead gained about 10 lbs. I kept losing and gaining weekly based on chemo.
But I made it a joke I kept going weekly to the oncologist and telling them that this "chemo diet plan" is just not working for me!
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over 8 years agomysecondchance
I lost a total of 45 pounds. I lost and gained throughout my treatment. I initially lost 32 pounds before treatment because I was so sick I was not eating or drinking much. I had two hospital stays and reached my lowest weight when my electrolytes hit bottom. As I recuperated I gained all the weight back. I have fought weight battles all my life so I had hoped to keep it off. I have been at Weight Watchers for 11 months and only lost 19 pounds. I think my metabolism must be off. Now I have had a recurrence and my doctor said not to stress about my weight. I have ovarian cancer.
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over 8 years agodjgabriel
Since October I have lost about 25 lbs. which I cannot afford to lose. I am 55 years old and am now down to the weight I was in college which is 224. I refuse to have a feeding tube put it and are on break thru nausea medications. With chemo treatments done as of last week, I hope to endure 7 more radiation treatments and then I will be done. I have SCCHN and am doing fine.
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