Food for Folfox

Coloncancerblows

I'm starting my chemo this week and lots of people are planning on bringing food for myself and family. From your experience on Folfox, are there any do's and don't foods?  I'm assuming nothing greasy, spicy or smelly foods but just wanted some food ideas. Thanks!

 

Cyn

dmj101

Protiens.. are a must..

I had no problems with food during FolFox.. infact I found I likes spicey food.. but not greasy food.

I craved fish and steaks... and breads.... 

No Ice pops

watch the heat temp of the foods you eat and drink .. not too hot and not too cold.

It was all about experimenting for me.. but I really didn't find anything I couldn't eat.

Good luck.. let us know how it goes...

Donna

Coloncancerblows

dmj101 said:

Protiens.. are a must..

I had no problems with food during FolFox.. infact I found I likes spicey food.. but not greasy food.

I craved fish and steaks... and breads.... 

No Ice pops

watch the heat temp of the foods you eat and drink .. not too hot and not too cold.

It was all about experimenting for me.. but I really didn't find anything I couldn't eat.

Good luck.. let us know how it goes...

Donna

Thanks Donna!

Thanks Donna!

Trubrit

food is your friend

As you may remember I'm only on session 2, go in for my third on Wednesday, so I have limited experience. 

For me, fried foods equals horrendous heartburn. My lovely lads brought me French fries the other day, I felt I had to eat them, but oh, didn't I pay for it. 

Chocolate helps with metal tongue. Well, chocolate helps with everything really .

On my good days, the spicier the better. Its great to taste something in your mouth other than metal. 

So far, I lose about four pounds on my bad days, and easily gain it back on my good days. 

It really depends on how your own body responds. 

The ladies from church bring meals in on the Thursday and Saturday after my treatments, I figure if I can't handle it I'll get something easy out of the cupboard, and let them bring in what they fancy. 

I am so happy to hear you have that kind of support. 

annalexandria

I found eating small quantities,

of whatever sounded good to me, helped reduce the nausea.  When the nausea got bad, I pretty much lived on saltines.  I was told by my infusion nurse to act like a mouse, and just keep "nibbling" all day long, so that's what I did.  For some reason, I didn't lose any weight, even though I could have benefited from losing a few pounds.  Staying fat through chemo is a special skill!  AA

Coloncancerblows

annalexandria said:

I found eating small quantities,

of whatever sounded good to me, helped reduce the nausea.  When the nausea got bad, I pretty much lived on saltines.  I was told by my infusion nurse to act like a mouse, and just keep "nibbling" all day long, so that's what I did.  For some reason, I didn't lose any weight, even though I could have benefited from losing a few pounds.  Staying fat through chemo is a special skill!  AA

Thanks Ann.  I heard about

Thanks Ann.  I heard about the small meals really helps with the nausea too.  I guess whatever you can hold down, eat it!

Coloncancerblows

Trubrit said:

food is your friend

As you may remember I'm only on session 2, go in for my third on Wednesday, so I have limited experience. 

For me, fried foods equals horrendous heartburn. My lovely lads brought me French fries the other day, I felt I had to eat them, but oh, didn't I pay for it. 

Chocolate helps with metal tongue. Well, chocolate helps with everything really .

On my good days, the spicier the better. Its great to taste something in your mouth other than metal. 

So far, I lose about four pounds on my bad days, and easily gain it back on my good days. 

It really depends on how your own body responds. 

The ladies from church bring meals in on the Thursday and Saturday after my treatments, I figure if I can't handle it I'll get something easy out of the cupboard, and let them bring in what they fancy. 

I am so happy to hear you have that kind of support. 

I belong to a Keno group and

I belong to a Keno group and there are about 15 of us in the group.  We've been playing Keno together once a month for 13 years and these girls are like my sisters!  They have a schedule ready to start bringing me food this week and will do it as long as my chemo lasts (6 months).  I'm so fortunate to have such a great support system of friends.  My parents live about 5 hours away and my mom was here for 3 weeks after I had my tumor removed.  She'll be back next month to help during the chemo treatments and will stay about another month.  Thank God for mom's!

maglets

haha

staying fat throughout chemo was a special skill I too achieved AAin fact I have tried it three different times and managed to keep my weight up the whole time.

Cyn think of good protein for you....protein provides the building blocks you need to rebuild your healing body....fried food was not good for me either....anything that was comfy suited me....like mac and cheese.  I too think the nibble nibble all day long helps///little tiny meals ....if you ask at chemo I found there were always hand-outs on guidelines for eating on chemo...whatever works for you girl!!!!

mags

Trubrit

Coloncancerblows said:

I belong to a Keno group and

I belong to a Keno group and there are about 15 of us in the group.  We've been playing Keno together once a month for 13 years and these girls are like my sisters!  They have a schedule ready to start bringing me food this week and will do it as long as my chemo lasts (6 months).  I'm so fortunate to have such a great support system of friends.  My parents live about 5 hours away and my mom was here for 3 weeks after I had my tumor removed.  She'll be back next month to help during the chemo treatments and will stay about another month.  Thank God for mom's!

Fantastic!

The support of friends and family have meant the world to me. And now the support of strangers here on the forum, how blessed we are. 

I find that the food people bring in are always such gerenrous proportions, and I get lots of left overs, even with three grown men in the house. 

I'm going to have to try the mouse thing. It will probably come as the chemo accumulates and I feel a little worse. Right now, I'm going to enjoy all I can get down.

abrub

I found I was ultra-sensitive

I found I was ultra-sensitive to spices (and I normally like spicy food.)  In particular, pepper (standard black table pepper) got to me, and the food tasted overly spicy.  Others couldn't fathom what I was tasting!

Everyone reacts differently, so just try little bits.

Also, be aware that some of us get "first bite syndrome."  It's not common, but if you do get a shooting pain in your jaw on the first bite of food, know that it will subside, and won't recur until you start eating after another break (15+minutes.)  Once first bite has passed, you should be good for the remainder of the meal.  Most people don't have this, but those of us who do or did remember it well!

Good luck, and may your chemo be successful and go easily.

Alice

Fucc

I found that there were some
I found that there were some days I was really hungry and others when food was a turn off. When I felt the worst I craved things like mashed potatoes or plain pasta. I also craved fruit. This may be partly the need for water and perhaps my body needed the vitamins and natural antioxidants. For me, I have gained 15 pounds on folfox. I could have used a bit of weight loss, but it didn't happen. My oncologist said not to worry and that it is partly because of the hormone he gave me to deal with the nausea. He said that we can talk about diet when im done chemo Hopefully the 15 pounds plus some will fall off she. I'm done in a few weeks. Honestly, eat what sounds good to you. There was one week when I went through three jars of pickles. Lol. Some weeks I crave salty, others sweet. Last round I couldn't stomach anything sweet. Chemo really is a strange thing.

Also, you may need to curb your diet to deal with your side effects. For example, I suffered from the absolute worst and unimaginable constipation I have ever had in my life. Where others suffer from diarreah.

Coloncancerblows

abrub said:

I found I was ultra-sensitive

I found I was ultra-sensitive to spices (and I normally like spicy food.)  In particular, pepper (standard black table pepper) got to me, and the food tasted overly spicy.  Others couldn't fathom what I was tasting!

Everyone reacts differently, so just try little bits.

Also, be aware that some of us get "first bite syndrome."  It's not common, but if you do get a shooting pain in your jaw on the first bite of food, know that it will subside, and won't recur until you start eating after another break (15+minutes.)  Once first bite has passed, you should be good for the remainder of the meal.  Most people don't have this, but those of us who do or did remember it well!

Good luck, and may your chemo be successful and go easily.

Alice

Thank you Alice.  I'm

Thank you Alice.  I'm learning so much on this website.  I'll remember the "first bite syndrome". 

Coloncancerblows

Fucc said:

I found that there were some
I found that there were some days I was really hungry and others when food was a turn off. When I felt the worst I craved things like mashed potatoes or plain pasta. I also craved fruit. This may be partly the need for water and perhaps my body needed the vitamins and natural antioxidants. For me, I have gained 15 pounds on folfox. I could have used a bit of weight loss, but it didn't happen. My oncologist said not to worry and that it is partly because of the hormone he gave me to deal with the nausea. He said that we can talk about diet when im done chemo Hopefully the 15 pounds plus some will fall off she. I'm done in a few weeks. Honestly, eat what sounds good to you. There was one week when I went through three jars of pickles. Lol. Some weeks I crave salty, others sweet. Last round I couldn't stomach anything sweet. Chemo really is a strange thing.

Also, you may need to curb your diet to deal with your side effects. For example, I suffered from the absolute worst and unimaginable constipation I have ever had in my life. Where others suffer from diarreah.

Thank you for the advice. 

Thank you for the advice.  OMG....I hope I don't suffer from constipation like that!  Did your doc give you anything?  I don't know what's worse....that or diaherria.  My oncologist also said chemo is not a diet plan so I'm hoping not to gain weight either. 

abrub

Coloncancerblows said:

Thank you for the advice. 

Thank you for the advice.  OMG....I hope I don't suffer from constipation like that!  Did your doc give you anything?  I don't know what's worse....that or diaherria.  My oncologist also said chemo is not a diet plan so I'm hoping not to gain weight either. 

I also suffered from constipation

I took colace and senna, starting the day or so before chemo, and then through the treatment, until I knew everything was moving right.  You really don't want to have to strain.  Your skin becomes tender, and if you suffer from an anal fissure (as I did) it will not heal until you are done with chemo.  Anal fissures are extremely painful (and mine was one of the reasons I stopped chemo.  Even so, it was several weeks until I healed.)

I gained lots of weight on chemo - it seemed to mess with my digestive tract in such a way that starting at about the 7th round (after which I quit) I gained 4 pounds a week for the next 12 weeks.  I was eating healthier and less than I had been eating prior to cancer, so it was a metabolic change, not a change in diet.

Trubrit

Coloncancerblows said:

Thank you Alice.  I'm

Thank you Alice.  I'm learning so much on this website.  I'll remember the "first bite syndrome". 

For me its like when you bite

For me its like when you bite into aluminium foil and it hits a filling. Shocking  !

Coppercent

Hungry!

I am not sure if it was from the steriods or what but I could eat anything and everything whild doing Folfox.   Seriously, I ate more while in treatment than I ever have in my life.  I also thought maybe it was because through my LAR I couldn't eat at all and my body was finally saying I had to eat to stay alive. I usally wouldn't eat spicy things but through treatment I craced spicy food.  Just wait and see and keep everyone updated!.  My co-workers were great!  They had a schedule and someone always brought me in lunch at work and they would also send me home with my dinner.  Good luck with your treatments!

 

pete43lost_at_sea

great question, healthy holistic tasty food.

dear cyn,

basically its the perfect time to adopt an healthy holistic diet, the goal is to reduce the load on your liver and improve your biology.

so some juicing, some organic raw foods, ensuring adequate protein.

however all the dietary best intentions fail because your gut is trashed, so rebuilding the gut is paramount. else most of the goodness does not get absorbed.

i am not preaching just sharing what i did and why. i was stronger and fitter at the end of my 6 months folfox then i was at the start.

severe dehydration from folfox almost killed me twice, doing some research and talking to good cancer naturopaths, set the stage for my improving health during this illness.

this is just my experience, above all have healthy foods you enjoy. but a enjoy the foods because i know are good for me, not good tasting. but good tasting healthy food is possible.

of course ask your doctor, i did, she disagree and said mcdonalds, i followed my gut.

hugs,

pete

renw

pete43lost_at_sea said:

great question, healthy holistic tasty food.

dear cyn,

basically its the perfect time to adopt an healthy holistic diet, the goal is to reduce the load on your liver and improve your biology.

so some juicing, some organic raw foods, ensuring adequate protein.

however all the dietary best intentions fail because your gut is trashed, so rebuilding the gut is paramount. else most of the goodness does not get absorbed.

i am not preaching just sharing what i did and why. i was stronger and fitter at the end of my 6 months folfox then i was at the start.

severe dehydration from folfox almost killed me twice, doing some research and talking to good cancer naturopaths, set the stage for my improving health during this illness.

this is just my experience, above all have healthy foods you enjoy. but a enjoy the foods because i know are good for me, not good tasting. but good tasting healthy food is possible.

of course ask your doctor, i did, she disagree and said mcdonalds, i followed my gut.

hugs,

pete

All hospital dieticiians I

All hospital dieticiians I spoke with recommnded that I simply eat more during chemo. More icecream, more sugary foods high in carbs, and to sip supplement drinks loaded with corn syru and canola oil etc.

Sometimes I feel like the hospitals want to kill u off sooner to save money. The favorite argument is that there is no scientific evidence that prooves that any sort if diets have an impact on cancer. By that they mean there are no phase 3 clinical trials I assume as even a quick look on the net will reveal many scientific papers linking cancer growth rates and diet.

Fucc

renw said:

All hospital dieticiians I

All hospital dieticiians I spoke with recommnded that I simply eat more during chemo. More icecream, more sugary foods high in carbs, and to sip supplement drinks loaded with corn syru and canola oil etc.

Sometimes I feel like the hospitals want to kill u off sooner to save money. The favorite argument is that there is no scientific evidence that prooves that any sort if diets have an impact on cancer. By that they mean there are no phase 3 clinical trials I assume as even a quick look on the net will reveal many scientific papers linking cancer growth rates and diet.

I agree some of what they may

I agree some of what they may tellmyou seems wrong. However, when I met with the hospital dietitian those types of recommendations seeTed to be m,ore for people suffering from severe weight loss.  At that point it's. Ore of a desperate attempt to get some weight on to maintain the body through chemo. My dietitian went through my diet, stressed staying away from oricessed foods, eating,ots of fruits and vegetables, whole grain and somedairy, especially things like yogurt to support the gut. All makes sense and generally should be followed anyways. But to be honest, whe your on chemo sometimes your body doesn't want a spinach salad witsaid salmon, but it wants a chocolate milkshake.  So have the milkshake.  It's all about moderation in my opinion. 

YoVita

I agree with all of the above

It does depend on the person though.  One thing I had difficulty with was dairy - yogurt was okay.  I am lactose intolerant so that probably played a role.  Eat what you can tolerate.  

Best, Vita

Coloncancerblows

Thank you all for the

Thank you all for the comments/suggestions.  I start my chemo tomorrow so time will tell.