Home Care Services in Indianapolis, IN – Easy Ways to Add Calories When Fighting Cancer Reduces the Desire to Eat

Facing cancer will be challenging for people of all ages. For seniors, especially those who are dealing with physical challenges and other limitations, going through radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, and other treatment plans can make the fight against cancer much more challenging.

One common tendency among cancer patients is to lose weight. This is commonly the result of not eating enough food or consuming enough calories, especially when dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy, which are commonly nausea, vomiting, and a loss of energy and appetite.

Home care services can be an integral component in a successful fight against cancer. An experienced caregiver would be able to provide emotional support to the individual as well as information about exercise, diet, the types of foods they should eat, and much more. They can also provide support in the form of helping to maintain the home, assisting the individual getting out of bed and going to the bathroom, and much more.

April is Cancer Control Month and for seniors going through this fight, home care services should be considered an integral part of the process. As for getting more calories, which is essentially energy in the form of food, there are numerous things the senior can do to increase their caloric intake without necessarily having to eat more food at each meal.

One way is to melt margarine over hot foods. This can include soups, toast, hot cereal, rice, and even soft-boiled eggs. If they prefer eating vegetables, that’s tremendously beneficial and melting some margarine over the vegetables can also increase caloric intake.

For those who enjoy eating salads, especially salads that are topped with meat such as chicken or beef, using mayonnaise instead of a traditional salad dressing can help to boost caloric intake.

Consuming more peanut butter, which is also high in protein, can be tremendously beneficial. Consider dabbing some peanut butter on an apple slice, over a banana, or even serving it with a pear.

Adding whipped cream to certain desserts can also add more calories in the diet. If this sounds too good to be true because whipped cream is a delicious additive to most desserts, consider this one of the benefits of having to add more calories to one’s diet. Add whipped cream to pudding, on the top of pies, in hot chocolate, over fruit, on Jell-O and any other type of dessert. When making whipped cream from scratch, choose heavy cream instead of milk.

These are just a few ways to add calories to one’s diet when fighting cancer.

The professionals at Great Care are available to talk with you and your family about all of your home care needs. Great Care is a non medical in-home care agency providing quality and affordable senior care in Indianapolis, IN and the surrounding areas. Call (317) 595-9933 for more information.