I am struggling with my mother in law who is struggling with lung cancer. Actually, the cancer is not the problem but the chemo! As we all know by now, chemo is terrible...the side affects can be fatal. My mother in law is tiny, weighs 90 lbs. on a good day and is very hard to please when it comes to food and drinks. I adore this woman; we are very close and it is so hard to see her melting away simply because she won't and/or can't eat. She is constantly dehydrated- has been for years really as she thinks water tastes bad---she does not eat well, most likely she has been anorexic all of her life though given her age noone has ever helped her with it. My question is:::::how do I get her to drink water?! How do I get her to eat?! She will sip on an Ensure, maybe drink one a day perhaps 2. We have tried all sorts of flavored water, mineral water....I never knew there were so many types of water on the market these days! Today she went to the ER b/c she was extremely constipated and in terrible pain- not the first time this has happened but now that she is on chemo it is worse. I am at the point of tears with her and am thinking of letting her see my frustration and asking her why she is doing this----like she is giving up on some days. I know depression is another side affect of chemo; I know lask of appetite is one also; I know these things but what I don;t know is how to deal with the psychological side of an anorexic and how to get through to her that she has to drink water or she will die. Any suggestions at this point will be much appreciated.

Your mother-in-law isn't alone in having this problem. Unfortunately, cancer patients (my late father, for example) often complain after chemotherapy that foods and beverages have a foul, metallic taste. Here's an article explaining why, from Medical News Today.

Similarly, chemotherapy-related dehydration is a serious problem that many cancer patients face. (From chemocare.com, here's a primer on the subject.)

The American Institute for Cancer Research offers nutritional suggestions for cancer patients with taste problems, such as serving foods cold and eating a number of small meals throughout the day, rather than the usual three.

Cancersupportivecare.com, suggests a number of tricks, such as adding honey or sweetener to drinks, or mixing ginger ale or fruit juices with club soda to remove some of the strange tastes. From Ask.metafilter.com,here are some other ideas from relatives of cancer patients. One person, for example, recommends serving drinks over ice in a covered cup with a straw, since distorted aroma is one of the things that makes food and drinks unpleasant.

Anyone out there have some good suggestions based on experience? We'd like to hear them.