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Anorexia Oral supplements significantly increase total daily nutritional intake when they are taken between meals and at bedtime. They can also be used when you are feeling too ill to eat solid food. They are recommended for many patients with cancer. There are commercial preparations available but recipes for homemade preparations are found in a number of resources. Enteral feedings are liquids that are delivered by feeding tubes that can be inserted through the nose, or through the abdominal wall directly into the stomach or small bowel. These routes are beneficial when people cannot eat but the gastrointestinal system is still functioning. Heated fluids can give a feeling of warmth. Feedings can have flavors added. Parenteral nutrition is a method of getting nutrition through an intravenous tube into a large vein in your body, and can be used for people that do not have a functioning gastrointestinal tract. Because there can be an increase of infection at the location where the catheter is inserted, and because the benefits of this type of nutrition are not as well documented this treatment is usually limited in patients with cancer. The ability of your body to use nutrients from the foods you take in is dependent on a healthy gastrointestinal (GI) system. Cancer can affect this system in many ways. As long as your GI system works, it should be used. Lack of use of the GI system can cause more problems that will affect your nutritional status. Benefits of Oral (by mouth) and Enteral (by feeding tube) Nutrition
Feeding tubes and intravenous feedings are needed for some people with cancer. Before and after surgery, patients who are severely malnourished benefit from these types of feedings. Stem cell or bone marrow transplant recipients also benefit. During aggressive treatment for head and neck cancer nutritional supplementation is often needed. When to call your healthcare team
Your Goals of Nutrition Are
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