Cronin, a healthcare executive in Pittsburgh, has been cancer-free since undergoing surgery to remove his tumor. But the effects of his disease and treatment — which involved the removal of 80 percent of his pancreas along with his gallbladder and spleen, plus chemotherapy and radiation — have permanently altered his approach to nutrition. The father of two was 195 pounds when he received his cancer diagnosis but withered to a low of 120 pounds in the months after surgery. That was before he figured out how to cope with his rerouted digestive system. “I’d love to say I just have amazing willpower,” Cronin says. “The reality is, my health forced me there. But one of the really significant keys when you’re trying to battle your way back from these digestive and nutritional problems is to develop a level of consistency in your diet.”
How Pancreatic Cancer Challenges Your Digestive System
Certain nutritional issues are unique to pancreatic cancer regardless of treatment, including lack of appetite, pain during and after meals, the need to replace lost pancreatic enzymes, and digestive upsets, such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, heartburn, diarrhea, and constipation. “The pancreas helps break down food for nourishment,” explains Victoria Manax Rutson, MD, chief medical officer for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN). “There are a lot of intestinal connections with the pancreas, and when those connections are disrupted, it will have an effect on your eating.” Of course, lack of appetite and difficulty keeping food down will lead to weight loss. Dr. Rutson urges patients to do everything possible to maintain their weight so they don’t unnecessarily sacrifice the muscle mass and strength so crucial to fighting any form of cancer. “Without the proper nutrients,” she says, “patients will be tired and won’t feel well, and it can compromise their overall health.” Careful collaboration between patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers can prevent or offset many of these problems. Cronin has sought guidance from a “wider network of professionals,” he says, including a dietitian. He considers his collaborators — including his wife, Kathy — as critical to his recovery and well-being. “Pancreatic cancer is such a harsh disease with a low survival rate, if you don’t have the right caregivers and clinicians steering things, you’re not going to be successful,” he says. “Before I got on the right path, I continued changing my medication and trying to retain my food until a dietitian removed all dairy, gluten, and processed sugar from my diet.”
7 Tips for the Table
Rutson and Cronin offer these pointers for boosting nutrition:
