What do you recommend for patients who experience anorexia due to loss of appetite?
Which appetite stimulants are the most effective? How do you respond to patients who request medical marijuana?
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
"But to eat when you are sick, is to feed your sickness."- Hippocrates A lot of preclinical work (Valter longo, Warburg etc) show he was probably right and the fact that tumors will preferentially have access to gluocse and proteins (ie PET scan-Warburg effect)I would use steroids (dexamethasone or ...
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Medical Oncologist at Allegheny General Hospital-Western Pennsylvania Hospital The idea that nutrition feed the cancer is taken t...
Radiation Oncologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center Miami I wouldn't advocate starvation, but I don't feel c...
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
I would take this question a step further and ask what to do about muscle loss, which in reality is the bigger issue. Fat loss may not be such a bad thing for many patients with prostate, breast, endometrial and other similar obesity-related cancers. Cachexia and muscle loss, which is usually the re...
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Radiation Oncologist at Mount Sinai Medical Center Miami "Aggressive nutrition therapy in RTOG trial 90-03 ...
Answer from: Radiation Oncologist at Community Practice
I agree w/ @Nicolas Kuritzky. From experiences w/ fasting in general and its positive effects, very early data re: positive effects of fasting in cancer patients, decreased survival in certain scenarios with steroids like dexamethasone, and increased survival in head/neck cancer patients who lose we...
Answer from: Medical Oncologist at Community Practice
- Short answer: Mirtazepine, Steroids, Zyprexa. The increasing prevalence of immune checkpoint inhibitors often pushes steroids way down on my list.
- Regarding medical marijuana, this is particularly dependent on the state where you practice. When I was in Florida, I found the laws ina...
The idea that nutrition feed the cancer is taken t...
I wouldn't advocate starvation, but I don't feel c...