Can anyone tell me....

charelaine

OK, this is going to sound weird and paranoid... I have been doing FOLFOX since April. I had to miss my last two treatments because I was sick. I have two treatments left ( which means if I hadn't got sick I would be done). Anyway, I have been craving mint chocolate cookies like crazy. I read that cancers feed on sugars, and I am wondering if my new love for sweets is really me feeding my cancer again. Is this possible?? I also think I may have blood in my stool again, but I have a colostomy and it could be my stoma. My nurse is going to look at it tomorrow and see if it is my stoma, but if not, what then? Will insuarance pay for 3 colonoscopies in a year? Any thoughts?

Stage iii 8/12 nodes positive

scouty

Oh honey,

I have no idea about insurance and a 3rd colonoscopy but am hoping your oncologist will have some other reasonings for the "blood in your stool with the bag". I had a bag for over 2 years and am very impressed you even noticed any blood. I saw red stuff but could always attribute it to the food I had eaten. YES foods definitely change the color of stools and it is much more noticable with the bag.

As far as cravings go, especially while on chemo, I think you eat as you can and be thankful you want to eat in the first place. Try to get some complex carbs in your tummy before eating the cookies. Things like oatmeal, pasta, heavy carbs and then you eat the sweets, they can be mixed together so it isn't a straight shot of sugar for the ole cancer cells. You can also help yourself by eating some mint chocolate cookies that have more healthy stuff in them then most. Try Newmans Own (Paul Newmans daughter's brand). They are durn good and I ate them while I was on Folfox. They have natural sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, a man made concoction responsible for the obesity and rise in cancer in the US today in my opinion.

Lisa P.

charelaine

I posted kind of late last night (for me) and so I maybe wasn't clear about the blood. I had a problem with my stitches around my stoma. They wouldn't disolve. I ahve had my bag since Feb. Well, a couple months ago, I had a huge accident and I busted out my stitches. It bled a whole lot, blood was running down my leg, etc. home health nurse came and after bleeding stopped, stoma looked better than it ever had, so we assumed it was from the stitches. Problem is, the thing still bleeds every now and then. Now what is confusing is that sometimes there is blood in the bag when it is brand new, no stool in it. That makes you think it has to be the stoma. But nothing appears to be wrong with my stoma and I cannot see where the blood would be coming from. when I change my bag now, there is always a trail of blood, and always blood mixed with the stool. you thought colostomies stunk before, let me tell you, stale blood makes it 100 times worse. But we cannot figure out what is going on and so I am beginning to worry that the blood is coming from inside the stoma for some reason and I am going to get with my surgeon. It is definitely not food, but I do know what you are talking about there. It really is beginning to freak me out. I am now constantly examining the contents of my bag, though, because I am anal about what is going on there since the accident.
My question about the food is not about the cookies in particular, i don't guess. I am craving them, and i mean like I am pregnant or something. This is a craving that will send me out in the middle of the night. But it is a sweets craving too. I pretty much only want sugar. When i first had my surgery, my mom bought me thin mints, one box, and it took me a month or longer to finish the box. My normal eating patterns do not include a lot of sugar. But now I have the feeling like the cancer is eating, not me, and that is scary. And I do eat other things, but I will not be satisfied at all unless I get sweets. The reason I mention it at all is that when they do a PET scan, they inject sugars which go straight to the cancer and make it show up pink. Apparenly, cancer loves sugar. So is it possible that cancer causes cravings? Maybe I am just scared that it is coming back since it has been since July 31 since my last chemo. I tend to think positive, but there has always been a nagging in the back of my head that says that as soon as I am off chemo, it will return. That is a feeling I can't shake, no matter how hard I try. I am not trying to be negative, just honest. Thanks for responding though. I will try to pay attention to the food I eat and make sure that it isn't confusing me, but I am almost positive it is blood.

IzzieCat

Hi......Just a thought about the sugar cravings....Have your docotrs ever checked your blood sugar levels? The reason I ask is because I am diabetic, and in the weeks before i was diagnosed with it, I was craving sugar like crazy....I know that chemo plays havoc with our bodies....I would ask your doctor if your blood sugar has been checked. Hope this helps.....

Mary