2018 Volume 13 Issue 2 Pages 169-174
There is a lack of recognition regarding the negative impact of cancer cachexia on advanced cancer patients and their family members. Management of cancer cachexia should address not only patients’ physical problems, but also psychosocial burdens of both patients and their family members. Eating-related distress (ERD) is one of the most representative psychosocial burdens experienced during cancer. Summary points of palliative care and nutritional support for ERD experienced by patients and their family members are described as below. 1) Management strategies should address ERD experienced by patients and their family members. 2) If multimodal treatments reduce the negative impact of cachexia, ERD placed on patients and their family members might be alleviated. 3) The main causes of ERD experienced by patients and their family members are a lack of knowledge about cachexia, unsuccessful attempts to increase body weight, expected occurrence of the patient’s death, and conflicts over food between them. 4) Supportive, communicative, and educational interventions would alleviate ERD of patients and their family members. 5) Palliative care and nutritional support for ERD experienced by patients and their family members needs to be tailored to the severity of the patient’s cachexia, especially in cases of refractory cachexia. Since ERD can change during cancer, palliative care and nutritional support need to be tailored to each advanced cancer patient and their family.
