[Music] keeping your body strong and you feeling healthy is essential during cancer treatment nutrition fuels your body and can help you stay on your scheduled treatment plan if you are having trouble eating tolerating a tube feeding or simply are not getting enough of the essential nutrients your body needs your dietitian may recommend tpn tpn is different from a tube feeding because it sends nutrients straight into your bloodstream instead of your stomach that way your digestive system doesn't have to work as hard to break down solid food the liquid tpn solution that flows into your body is made up of vitamins and minerals protein carbohydrates and fat you need vitamins and minerals for good health and growth protein helps with healing building muscle preparing tissue and fighting off infection carbohydrates are your main source of energy that also provides energy and helps your body absorb vitamins through the bloodstream tpn works continuously to distribute the nutrients into your body so you will need to be connected to an IV during the entire infusion which could be up to 24 hours you can also have tpn running while you sleep based on your needs the care team will decide the number of hours for each infusion and how long you will need tpn if your care team suggest the use of tpn don't worry it is not painful you will get tpn through your central line being on tpn doesn't mean you have to sit around all day you can still get up and move around IV stands and backpacks allow you to move around your room and the hospital and you may even be able to use these to run your tpn at home malnutrition is a very common problem in cancer patient even patients who are eating can become malnourished because of specific changes to their digestive system because of cancer treatment tpn helps reverse the effects of malnutrition and helps your body respond better to treatment however tpn is only a temporary solution our goal is to help you return to tube feeding and eating normally if you are able you can still eat and use feeding tubes while receiving tpn long-term use of PPN is not recommended except for special circumstances as it can increase the risk of infections or liver damage your dietitian and medical teams are working to improve your nutrition so you can maintain a healthy weight continue to grow and develop feel better and heal faster if you have any questions about tpn don't be afraid to ask your dietitian