Diet and Nutition

Loss of weight is a significant problem in pancreatic cancer.

The Cancerhelp UK web-site provides useful information on diet and pancreatic cancer and also has information on What's new in diet problems?.

There is general information on eating well and a building up diet for cancer in general on the Cancerbackup web-site.

The American charity PANCAN web-site has advice on diet and nutrition which includes information on coping with diabetes, diarrhea, nausea and weight loss and on pancreatic enzymes and products on the market for weight gain in the USA

Patients should discuss whether they should be taking nutritional supplements, supplements containing EPA or replacement pancreatic enzymes with their consultant, dietitian, palliative care team or GP.

Supplement drinks and products which provide extra calories and protein may have to be taken for a while after any treatment. These can be prescribed by a GP and should be taken with advice from a dietitian.

These drinks come in a variety of flavours, some juicy and some milky, and preference will depend on personal tastes.

Some of these supplements contain fish oils (eicosapentanoic acid –EPA) which may have a beneficial effect on weight gain, and should be taken under medical supervision. see news item in the Pharmaceutical Journal and abstract in the journal Gut and BBC news: Fish oils 'help cancer patients'. It should be taken under medical supervision. Other sources of EPA are omega-3 fish oil (although the amounts per capsule are not guarenteed) and oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines and tuna (see the information on the PanCAN pages).

Cancerbackup have a a large list of available supplements on their web-site.

A good article on pancreatic enzymes and replacement therapy is available from the PanCAN pages. We have additional information on our page on pancreatic enzymes.

Pancreatic insufficiency is likely to be a problem with patients who have undergone surgery to have part of the pancreas removed.

Most non-surgical cancer patients will have a blocked or partially blocked pancreatic duct and so are also likely to have some need of enzyme replacement therapy.

Some patients may become diabetic in association with their pancreatic cancer. This means that they are possibly trying to cope with diabetes and weight loss at the same time. They should discuss with their dietician or other medical advisors how to control their diabetes whilst their intake and diet are changing.

It is very important that dietary products (eg nutritional supplements) are used correctly for the right patients and advice should always be sought from a Dietitian before taking these, especially as some products may contain high glucose.

Some patients have provided tips on how they have coped with eating in their patient biographies. There are some comments from post-Whipple's surgery patients on the frequently asked questions page.

We also provide some suggestions from carers.