Research published in the Journal of Eating Disorders on December 24, 2021, “Case Reports of New-Onset Eating Disorders in Older Adult Cancer Survivors,” counters the popularly held belief that young people exclusively suffer from these illnesses. Further, considering the mental and physical dedication it takes to become a cancer survivor, it also spotlights the heartbreaking influence of feeding and eating disorders.
Of the four cases—two males and two females—included in Rakusin and colleagues’ research, all were over 60 years old and experienced the following:
- No psychiatric history of feeding and eating disorders
- An eating disorder developing after curative cancer treatment
Furthermore, the support and encouragement of their care teams were documented. However, even with measures taken such as providing feeding tube regimens, each person displayed an inability to return to their expected weight or consume sufficient nutrients. Intentional food and feeding tube refusals recurred.
Outcomes after surviving cancer treatment (surgery, chemo-radiotherapy, or both)
The four cases included in Rakusin and colleagues’ study all had poor outcomes—despite each person having expressed their desire to live. Two experienced “chronic courses” of eating problems and repeated mental and medical complications from malnutrition. – Click for full article
