My brother just told me how little he weighs. (He lives in a neighboring State.) He is almost 6' tall and he weighs 148pounds. I am very concerned because he hasn't even had surgery yet. He cannot afford to lose weight.

He will be staying with us after he is released from the hospital. My goal is to have him maintain his weight and my hope is that he even gain a bit.

Does anyone have high calorie smoothies recipes, something that has more calories than Ensure or Boost?

My husband is thin too. The MD said the Peg has made a big difference for folks in maintaining a reasonable weight. He doesn't have it yet so others will have to tell you more about that.

There is carnation 560 that is loaded with calories. He tolerates it well but I read here that someone compared it to Elmers glue so I'm guessing the taste is not so great to some. And it's not cheap.

The dietician also recommended going to GNC. There are several products that have up to 2000 calories of this powder mixed with 16 oz of water.
We had never been to a GNC before and in our area at least it was filled with bodybuilders. I was betting those kids were wondering what us old folks were doing there...

Dave said that was also "ok."

The carnation very high calorie liquid cans are relatively cheap compared to prescription formula cans. They can be ordered for $44 a case right thru the Amazon link here. Whenever you wish to order anything from Amazon, please use this link as OCF gets a tiny donation every time its used. I use the Carnation VHC daily but its thru my peg tube, its vanilla flavored. Some on this board have relied on this product to get them successfully thru their treatments (Davidcpa).

Since your brother has not had treatments yet, he should be in the weight gain phase. He should be eating everything he possibly can right now. Battling cancer zaps your caloric intake. Its possible to consume 3000+ calories per day and not gain weight.

How about cheesecake, pancakes, puddings, yogurt, soups, milkshakes. Chocolate peanutbutter milkshakes if made right have at least 2000 calories each. I made a list of easy foods, here are the links:

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=94621#Post94621

http://oralcancersupport.org/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=109499&page=1

Thank you, SusanW, I will check out GNC for the high calorie powder. Calories are where my concentration is now.

Christine,
You are a treasure.

I told my brother to eat his standard 3 meals a day and also drink 4 cans of Boost a day. He has been worried about his weight before he was diagnosed. He knows he has to gain before surgery.

This whole picture is slowly coming together. On March 13 I have an appointment at the VA with my oncologist. My husband is 100% disabled vet so I have access to the VA hospital. I am going to ask my onc if he can take my brother's case. It will make me feel more comfortable.

When I my tumor was typed I was strongly ER/PR positive and borderline Her2+. Almost all people with Her2+ have chemo along with a drug call Herceptin. We talked it over and decided to forgo chemo and Herceptin even though I am at high risk for recurrence.

I know that this onc will listen to my brother, explain the options to him and will support my brother's decision about treatment.

As usual the people on this board are so supportive and just plain helpful.

I'm a thin guy myself. 5'-6" and 130 at diagnosis. I gained ten pounds before treatment and then lost ten during treatment. I lost another 6 pounds after treatment and have gained back 4.

These are tough numbers for us thin guys. It's hard to explain but it just is.

I would make a shake of carnation instant breakfast, whole milk, ice cream, a bannana and a pack of soy protien to break up the monotiny of the Ensure, and carnation VHC formulas.

I only weighed 145 at Dx (5'7") and I got down to 120. Another problem to watch out for is constipation which is associated with dehydration which usually accompanies our severe weight lost.

Guys,

I have to admit, I am worried. I will watch out for dehydration. Having had surgery and pain meds, I thought about constipation.

The cancer is what it is. But, preparing to be his caregiver until he is finished with treatment is causing no end of stress. Once I know what he can swallow (if he can swallow), I'll start to calm down.

Notself

While it's all good advice, my suggestion to you is QUIT WORRYING ABOUT WEIGHT. Yes, take VHC or Ensure along with water, but my personal experience is that your brother can thrive (let alone survive) even if his BMI is "underweight". I am 5 foot 11 inches tall and weigh 134 pounds. Yet I can bench press 140 pounds and generally out work "normal" men of my age with zero difficulty. I shoveled snow for 4 hours at a stretch while my neighbors were exhausted much earlier even though they were younger and "healthy"
The key is lean muscle mass and instead of taking chances on unregulated and potentially contaminated and dangerous "body building" protein powders etc, just do a Pilates or Yoga class regularly AFTER TX.
My wife worried herself sick when I went from 177 pounds to 134 and the doctors did not help any, instead they compounded the problem. IMO our obese society's pervasive denial of how fat and flabby the majority of people are (including my Cancer center doctors) generates this false worry.
Life extension research comes down heavily in favor of substantial reduced calories (although it has only been proven in mice). The best thing you can do for your brother right now is to make sure he has a pre TX TSH test so he will know what his thryoid levels should be after TX. Now that is a real problem.
Charm

I went from 220 to 147 and after reagaing just a little strength I would and still do go nonstop with works around here of anytype. I just finished raking my yard and shoveling the last 2 ft of snow from my deck. At present I am 170 this morning. By the way I lost weight after losing the OC weight to losing 25 that I had regained due to Aortic Aneurysm surgery 13 months ago. I just have to watch and not use the lower stomache muscles with what ever I do. Don't want to blow the lower end of that thing that is waiting to be repaired.

Charm2017, Thanks for the talk down. I was creating problems where none as yet exists. Thanks for the possible mention of contamination in Bodybuilder powders. I will refrain from buying any. The last think a skinny person needs is a bout of diarrhea. The TSH test is on my list.

EzJim, How in the heck did you discover the Aortic Aneurysm? That must have made you wake up and take notice.