lung caner with pnuemonia(pneumonia)

1/-  What type of food can give appetite to a patient with pnuemonia (pneumonia) and lung cancer?
2/- How long is their life expectation with the chemo and radiation treatment? (patient is 54).

[Connie 1]

i suppose food that they liked to eat in the past.  i'm not being facetious.  it depends on what they like.  can't tell what the life expectation is, you need to talk to your doctor to ask about that particular patient.

[HeinrikMD]

Hi.
If chemotherapy is being given it is best to increase the amount of protein, in order for the body to have sufficient material to make up for the bystanders that are affected by chemotherapy (such as blood elements). Care should be exercised in making sure that food is clean in order to avoid getting infectious diarrhea since the resistance to fight infection is down.
If the radiation is affecting the ability to swallow, then food that is more liquid may be helpful.
For pneumonia, no specific diet is favored.
Life expectancy is dependent on the actual extent of disease. Since he is receiving both chemotherapy and radiation - I am assuming this is not stage 3b or stage 4 disease. A 5 year survival rate may range from 10-40%.
Discuss with your doctor these estimates - he knows other details about the patient such as presence of other co-morbidities (diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease) that will definitely come to play in making a plan of therapy and its goals.
Stay positive.