Hodgkin’s lymphoma patient Evija Rača has endured approximately 80 chemotherapy treatments, a bone marrow transplant, frequent pain, vomiting, and the inability to eat for long periods of time during her treatment since 2021, but she lacked suitable recommendations for nutrition and recovery during her long course of treatment.
“Psychological help, mental training, nutrition, exercise – all of this is currently largely on the patient’s shoulders. Doctors are very busy and often unable to provide all the necessary information, but it is extremely difficult, sometimes even impossible, for the patient to look for solutions on their own, so we need to think about how to change this situation,” says Evija Rača.
Dr. med. Laila Meija, RSU Associate Professor, agrees that the situation is not ideal, but at the same time points out that currently there is an improvement in the situation regarding nutrition and oncology patients.
A healthcare professional who assesses the patient in a timely manner and recognizes malnutrition or nutritional insufficiency, is often missing from the patient’s journey. An important role in this process is played by a family doctor or a specialist doctor who has a contractual relationship with the state and who assesses the risks and refers the patient to a consultation at the Clinical Nutrition Office of Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital, where patients with malnutrition and other diagnoses can receive state-funded medical supplementary nutrition or other types of home feeding.
“If a patient starts to lose weight, eats significantly less, is unable to eat due to difficulty swallowing, suffers from vomiting, diarrhea or other nutrient losses, the treating physician or family doctor should be informed immediately. Any doctor who has a contractual relationship with the state can refer the patient to the Clinical Nutrition Office, which also provides nutritional support at home,” says Dr. Laila Meija.
However, in order for this assistance to reach the patient on time and to avoid queues, as is the case at present, more extensive patient information and a larger number of nutritionists in the Clinical Nutrition Office are necessary.
These matters and more related to oncology will be discussed at the LAMPA Conversation Festival in Cēsis on July 10 and 11 in the “Vēžojam kopā” tent of the oncology patient organization association “Onkoalianse”. The tent will host a series of nine discussions on important oncology issues at LAMPA.
Source: LSM