Up to 80% of cancer patients unintentionally lose weight which can have a devastating impact on their quality of life reducing their ability to tolerate chemotherapy and leading to poor survival rates according to Dr Aoife Ryan, dietitian and lecturer in Nutritional Sciences at UCC.
The seriousness of this issue is illustrated by the fact that one in five cancer deaths are caused from wasting, not from cancer. The wastage affects not just the muscles involved in movement but also the muscles involved in breathing and in the heart. Dr Ryan says, unfortunately, there is no safe drug to prevent or reverse this or to safely stimulate appetite.
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