Brenda,
You've gotten very good advice, especially about the VHC and Protein powder from Christine. VHC is "fantastic" as it not only is high in calories but it's fat/protein/carb makeup is in what's considered the "Golden Ratio" for your dietary needs (20-30% fat, 20-30% protein, 40-50% carbs) and this is very important. My only emphasis would be to supplement your protein as Christine suggested and here's why.
Here is a link to an interesting article from the National Institute of Health on Cachexia, or cancer induced weight loss.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2311497/Interesting excerpts:
"Wide alterations in carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism in the tumor-bearing host have been previously documented. Cancer anorexia/cachexia is characterized by a shift in nutrient use from the growth and maintenance of muscle mass to processes that support the immune response and affect disease resistance [6]. These changes can result in an increased rate of muscle protein degradation and increase in acute-phase protein synthesis, with progressive depletion of lean body mass, with clinical evidence of cachexia. As a matter of fact, the majority of cancer patients experience weight loss as their disease progresses and in general weight loss is a major prognostic indicator of poor survival and impaired response to anti-neoplastic therapy."
And
"Cancer induced weight loss (cachexia) is a complex, multifactorial syndrome that results from a reduction in food intake, a variety of metabolic abnormalities (including hypermetabolism) or more often a combination of the two."
This particular article had to do with Omega-3 Fatty Acids (Fish Oil etc), and where I haven't seen anything conclusive in those studies it really did emphasize the need for protein and nutrients during treatment. Whey Protein has the fastest uptake of all protein powders and is what I would recommend, unless you have dietary objections (vegan/vegetarian).
Nutrition and hydration are vital and thankfully one of the things you can control during this process. I wish I'd known more about it through my ordeal, but I wasn't fortunate enough to find OCF until well after treatment and surgery.
Keep your chin up
Eric
