survival age after diagnosis

marlin307

Roll call

Mother in law diagnosed w/ stage IV adenocarcinoma Oct 2017 age 62.  Tumor to lower esophagus, spread to liver, lesion on a lung, L2 lumbar, some lymph nodes.  She starts chemo, folfox, Monday 11/20.  We currently do not have results for HER2.  Very nervous for her, she seems to be rapidlly declining, very nauseated today.  We had 2nd opinion at MD Anderson in Houston this past week.  Trying to find a way to keep her healthy thru nutrition.  If anyone has tips they would like to share, it would be greatly appreciated. 

pvilletom

Roll Call

Diagnosed August 11, 2017   Age 60

Adenocarcinoma Stage 3 T2 tumor located at esophagus/stomach junction.

23 radiation and 5 chemo treatments

Trans Hiatal esophogectomy performed on December 18, 2017 in Madison Wisconsin

I have been having problems with occasional dry retching, nausea, dumping, and diahrea. I still have a J tube and am trying to find foods that I can eat to get free from the feeding tube. It feels like I am a long way away from being able to get the calories I need to get rid of the tube.  My weight is down from 165 to 150 and I really don't want to get much lower than that.  I would appreciate any suggestions.

pvilletom

Roll Call

Diagnosed August 11, 2017   Age 60

Adenocarcinoma Stage 3 T2 tumor located at esophagus/stomach junction.

Jim0586

Pvilletom

I am 1 1/2 years post transhiatal and also had a j tube.  I found drinking Ensure or other protein drinks helpful.  Soft foods like scrambled eggs and yogurt helped me get the calories I needed to get off the j tube.  I still have difficulties with high starch foods like potatoes and rice but otherwise I eat normally but smaller meals.  I hope this helps!

pvilletom

Jim0586 said:

Pvilletom

I am 1 1/2 years post transhiatal and also had a j tube.  I found drinking Ensure or other protein drinks helpful.  Soft foods like scrambled eggs and yogurt helped me get the calories I needed to get off the j tube.  I still have difficulties with high starch foods like potatoes and rice but otherwise I eat normally but smaller meals.  I hope this helps!

Jim0586

Thanks Jim, I really appreciate the advice, so far Ensure has not gone well as I seem to get dumping syndrome when I drink it.  I am starting to experiment with other foods and it seems to be working! Even pizza and fried chicken in small amounts.  Thanks again Jim!

Tom

 

 

Deathorglory

pvilletom said:

Jim0586

Thanks Jim, I really appreciate the advice, so far Ensure has not gone well as I seem to get dumping syndrome when I drink it.  I am starting to experiment with other foods and it seems to be working! Even pizza and fried chicken in small amounts.  Thanks again Jim!

Tom

 

 

Hello Tom

Hello Tom,

Really, you can eat pizza and fried chicken, but not Ensure?  You are a rare duck.  Enjoy your new normal, it's a lot different than most folks.

Best wishes,

Ed

PaulT

pvilletom said:

Jim0586

Thanks Jim, I really appreciate the advice, so far Ensure has not gone well as I seem to get dumping syndrome when I drink it.  I am starting to experiment with other foods and it seems to be working! Even pizza and fried chicken in small amounts.  Thanks again Jim!

Tom

 

 

Hey Tom

Tom, 

have you tried Boost Glucose Control? It's gluten free and suitable for lactose intolerance and only has 4 grams of sugar.

 

Paul

pvilletom

PaulT said:

Hey Tom

Tom, 

have you tried Boost Glucose Control? It's gluten free and suitable for lactose intolerance and only has 4 grams of sugar.

 

Paul

PaulT

Hi Paul,

Thank you for the suggestion. I have only tried ensure plus. It's possible that there is too much sugar in the ensure plus, I will have to experiment with some different protein drinks. I still have trouble getting enough calories by mouth. I am six plus weeks out of surgery and I am still getting 900 to 1200 calories a day from the feeding tube.  It seems that I have good days where I can eat 5 or 6 times a day and get 1500 calories or so, and then I have days where I don't have an appetite, I feel nauseous and I only get about 500 or so calories in a day. I can only hope that the bad days become fewer and farther between, and the good days get even better.

pvilletom

Deathorglory said:

Hello Tom

Hello Tom,

Really, you can eat pizza and fried chicken, but not Ensure?  You are a rare duck.  Enjoy your new normal, it's a lot different than most folks.

Best wishes,

Ed

Deathorglory

Hi Ed,

I see that you were diagnosed in May of 2008, so you are closing in on 10 years of survival!!!  Congratulations in advance for making that milestone, it encourages all of us who have been recently diagnosed.

As for my new normal, I'm not exactly sure what that is just yet, I am still in the experimental stage when it comes to food, I have found that if I chew it up fine enough, I can eat just about anything. I have seen some posts that have said they eat anything they used to, only in smaller amounts.  What does your daily diet look like? Are there foods that you can't eat. What are some of your favorites? I am pretty sure I am going to have to get at least 1800 to 2000 calories a day by mouth in order to get rid of the feeding tube and right now that seems almost impossible. I am six plus weeks out of surgery and still get 900 to 1200 calories a day from the feeding tube.  Any food tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Ed

Tom

kbdarnall

pvilletom said:

PaulT

Hi Paul,

Thank you for the suggestion. I have only tried ensure plus. It's possible that there is too much sugar in the ensure plus, I will have to experiment with some different protein drinks. I still have trouble getting enough calories by mouth. I am six plus weeks out of surgery and I am still getting 900 to 1200 calories a day from the feeding tube.  It seems that I have good days where I can eat 5 or 6 times a day and get 1500 calories or so, and then I have days where I don't have an appetite, I feel nauseous and I only get about 500 or so calories in a day. I can only hope that the bad days become fewer and farther between, and the good days get even better.

Paul (calories)

Hi Paul- My husband lost weight rapidly before EC treatment. I had trouble getting him to eat. Nutritionist suggested coconut oil for smoothies and other recipes. A teaspoon of coconut oil adds 43 calories and it has a mild, pleasant flavor. My husband has diabetes and takes Metformin. So, I must be thrifty with sugar.

I enjoy experimenting with smoothies. I bought a stove-top hand blender (Braun) because it is easy to assemble and clean. I can blend almost anything instantly. I make small portions (4-6 ounces) and put these in the fridge. During the day, I encourage him to drink a smoothie. Currently, he is actually gaining too much weight. But I have developed a strategy that will work post surgery.

Not everything tastes good. Coconut oil can boost calorie content without changing the flavor. Through trial and error, I discovered "Premier Protein" (vanilla flavor) as a good base. Premier has 30 grams of protein in 11 oz and 160 calories. I use 1/3 Premier for each smoothie (10 g protein) then add high-calorie ice cream for 2nd component. Other additives are peanut butter, Hershey's chocolate spread. Don't rely on fresh fruit unless it has strong flavor. Blueberry smoothie, with fresh berries, was not good. Sometimes I use fruit-flavored ice cream, then boost the flavor with preserves (pineapple, cherry, strawberry). Bananas and apples are good for adding texture. We have an orange tree that's dropping lots of ripe fruit. I am making Orange Julius type smoothies. You could probably use concentrated orange juice. 

My husband T3N0M0, has one infusion + 5 radiations to go. Next, we will focus on normal diet and exercise to get ready for surgery.  

BTW- Be careful with coconut oil if you use it for frying. It's wonderful for hash brown potatoes, but it smokes at low temperature and could ignite. 

PaulT

kbdarnall said:

Paul (calories)

Hi Paul- My husband lost weight rapidly before EC treatment. I had trouble getting him to eat. Nutritionist suggested coconut oil for smoothies and other recipes. A teaspoon of coconut oil adds 43 calories and it has a mild, pleasant flavor. My husband has diabetes and takes Metformin. So, I must be thrifty with sugar.

I enjoy experimenting with smoothies. I bought a stove-top hand blender (Braun) because it is easy to assemble and clean. I can blend almost anything instantly. I make small portions (4-6 ounces) and put these in the fridge. During the day, I encourage him to drink a smoothie. Currently, he is actually gaining too much weight. But I have developed a strategy that will work post surgery.

Not everything tastes good. Coconut oil can boost calorie content without changing the flavor. Through trial and error, I discovered "Premier Protein" (vanilla flavor) as a good base. Premier has 30 grams of protein in 11 oz and 160 calories. I use 1/3 Premier for each smoothie (10 g protein) then add high-calorie ice cream for 2nd component. Other additives are peanut butter, Hershey's chocolate spread. Don't rely on fresh fruit unless it has strong flavor. Blueberry smoothie, with fresh berries, was not good. Sometimes I use fruit-flavored ice cream, then boost the flavor with preserves (pineapple, cherry, strawberry). Bananas and apples are good for adding texture. We have an orange tree that's dropping lots of ripe fruit. I am making Orange Julius type smoothies. You could probably use concentrated orange juice. 

My husband T3N0M0, has one infusion + 5 radiations to go. Next, we will focus on normal diet and exercise to get ready for surgery.  

BTW- Be careful with coconut oil if you use it for frying. It's wonderful for hash brown potatoes, but it smokes at low temperature and could ignite. 

Tom/Kbdarnall

Kbdarnall, very good suggestions on the added calories. I lived on premier protein before my esophagectomy but could not drink them after my surgery as they made me very nauseous and or gave me dumping issues. Either the sugar or dairy in them really messes me up. But I can drink Boost Glucose Control all day long, I'm guessing because they are low in sugar and suitable for lactose intoleranc.

Tom, for only being 6 weeks out it sounds like you are doing  as well as can be expected. I am 2 years out from my esophagectomy tomorrow February 9th and I remember the first few months I was very nauseous and dumping issues and the dry heaves after almost ever meal but after a few months it got better and better and am doing really good today. There is another product you could try so you can maintain or even gain weight. It is called benecalorie and can be purchased on Amazon. It is unflavored 1.5 fluid ounce cups that you can mix with any liquid or food. Each little cup has 330 calories and 7 grams of protein. This definitely would help you maintain or gain weight. This are considered a medical food so I would recommend you let your Oncologist know before you take them. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have but overall at 6 weeks out you sound like you are doing fine.

 

Paul

pvilletom

PaulT said:

Tom/Kbdarnall

Kbdarnall, very good suggestions on the added calories. I lived on premier protein before my esophagectomy but could not drink them after my surgery as they made me very nauseous and or gave me dumping issues. Either the sugar or dairy in them really messes me up. But I can drink Boost Glucose Control all day long, I'm guessing because they are low in sugar and suitable for lactose intoleranc.

Tom, for only being 6 weeks out it sounds like you are doing  as well as can be expected. I am 2 years out from my esophagectomy tomorrow February 9th and I remember the first few months I was very nauseous and dumping issues and the dry heaves after almost ever meal but after a few months it got better and better and am doing really good today. There is another product you could try so you can maintain or even gain weight. It is called benecalorie and can be purchased on Amazon. It is unflavored 1.5 fluid ounce cups that you can mix with any liquid or food. Each little cup has 330 calories and 7 grams of protein. This definitely would help you maintain or gain weight. This are considered a medical food so I would recommend you let your Oncologist know before you take them. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have but overall at 6 weeks out you sound like you are doing fine.

 

Paul

PaulT

Kbdarnell and Paul,

I really appreciate the tips on keeping my calories up. Just ate a taco bell cruchy taco and it seems to have gone down ok.  I definitely think some of the protein drinks have more sugar that I can currently tolerate, so it is nice to know that there are some alternatives out there.

 

Paul,

Congratulations on your 2 year anniversary tomorrow, that is wonderful news. I also want to thank you for your advice and encouragement. It means a lot coming from someone who has "walked the walk", I have never been on one of these on-line forums and I am blessed that I decided to "take the plunge" because I get better advice here than I could ever get from the medical community.  They do certain things very well, but this is where you go to get detailed information from people who have been there, done that.

Thanks again, Paul

Tom

CancerEclipse

I' 74 now, and was diagnosed

I' 74 now, and was diagnosed with EC in Sep 2014 at Stage II, T3,N1, MX. I fought it for 3 years in various ways -- medical, naturopathic, and spiritual -- and when I finally submitted to the operation in Seattle, WA and they took out the tumor, it was more encapsulated and more like, Stage 1 T1,N0,M0. Did my multi-faceted treatment track actually move my cancer backwards?  In the operation hey took out 17 lymph nodes and none had cancer in them whereas it looked like two had cancer in them before. I've written all of this down, so if you're interested in the details, please let me know, <Content removed by CSN Support Team>. I'm glad so many of you are survivors. I'm out 11 months from the operation and scans are clear!

Deathorglory

pvilletom said:

Deathorglory

Hi Ed,

I see that you were diagnosed in May of 2008, so you are closing in on 10 years of survival!!!  Congratulations in advance for making that milestone, it encourages all of us who have been recently diagnosed.

As for my new normal, I'm not exactly sure what that is just yet, I am still in the experimental stage when it comes to food, I have found that if I chew it up fine enough, I can eat just about anything. I have seen some posts that have said they eat anything they used to, only in smaller amounts.  What does your daily diet look like? Are there foods that you can't eat. What are some of your favorites? I am pretty sure I am going to have to get at least 1800 to 2000 calories a day by mouth in order to get rid of the feeding tube and right now that seems almost impossible. I am six plus weeks out of surgery and still get 900 to 1200 calories a day from the feeding tube.  Any food tips you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Ed

Tom

Hi Tom

Hi Tom,

I almost missed you on this thread.  I only found this b/c I was looking about the guy who's here (on half a dozen threads) trying to sell his book about how diet & spirituality cured his cancer.  Imagine trying to cash in on your cancer from other cancer patients.  It'd probably be more efficient for you to start your own thread.  It's easy to do.  That way everything would be about what you want it to be about instead of a dozen other things that are hard to differentiate/locate.  

I'll answer your questions, but I will point out that I am probably not a good example to follow.  I have done a bunch of things because they made me feel like I was in charge of my life, not the cancer.  A lot of those choices came with a price to be paid, which I have been willing to pay because I'm a bit of a maniac.  My current diet (9 years out from surgery, to be clear) is that I eat and drink just about anything I want in fairly large quantities.  I have slowly expanded my new stomach from its minimal capacity to its current (normal for normal people) capacity.  That was a long and frequently painful process.  I overate a million times, which came at a price every single time.  After the surgery, I only used the feeding tube for two days.  I was eating peanut butter toast and drinking lemon tea for most meals for a while.  The feeding tube got jammed and we couldn't get it working (including an ER trip) so I just ate by mouth to get calories.  Soon enough, I was eating other foods in smaller, more frequent meals.  

As far as tips to offer, I really try to stay away from giving folks specific advice because everyone's journey is specific to them and I don't think what worked for me is necessarily useful to anyone else.  I'll give some general ideas, but I'm sure you've already figured these things out yourself.  Make your foods/liquids multitask.  An example is that you can get hydration, calories, protien and fats from drinking milk instead of water, which only provides hydration.  Cooking with additives like whey powder or protien powder can stretch the value you get from each time you eat.  Unfortunately, losing a ton of weight (and accompanying strength) is just what happens.  I dropped from 165 pre cancer to 115 post surgey.  I regained a good chunk of that and then had a recurrence where I dropped from 145 to 110.  The recurrence was in 2011.  I now weigh 175, which is the heaviest I've ever been.  It took a long time (and a lot of vomiting from overeating/reflux) but I'm happy with my pot belly.  

I'd suggest you work with your doctor and the hospital's oncology nutritionist to figure out what will work best for you.  

I hope things continue to go well for you.  From what you've described, you're ahead of the curve.

Best Wishes,

Ed

pvilletom

Deathorglory said:

Hi Tom

Hi Tom,

I almost missed you on this thread.  I only found this b/c I was looking about the guy who's here (on half a dozen threads) trying to sell his book about how diet & spirituality cured his cancer.  Imagine trying to cash in on your cancer from other cancer patients.  It'd probably be more efficient for you to start your own thread.  It's easy to do.  That way everything would be about what you want it to be about instead of a dozen other things that are hard to differentiate/locate.  

I'll answer your questions, but I will point out that I am probably not a good example to follow.  I have done a bunch of things because they made me feel like I was in charge of my life, not the cancer.  A lot of those choices came with a price to be paid, which I have been willing to pay because I'm a bit of a maniac.  My current diet (9 years out from surgery, to be clear) is that I eat and drink just about anything I want in fairly large quantities.  I have slowly expanded my new stomach from its minimal capacity to its current (normal for normal people) capacity.  That was a long and frequently painful process.  I overate a million times, which came at a price every single time.  After the surgery, I only used the feeding tube for two days.  I was eating peanut butter toast and drinking lemon tea for most meals for a while.  The feeding tube got jammed and we couldn't get it working (including an ER trip) so I just ate by mouth to get calories.  Soon enough, I was eating other foods in smaller, more frequent meals.  

As far as tips to offer, I really try to stay away from giving folks specific advice because everyone's journey is specific to them and I don't think what worked for me is necessarily useful to anyone else.  I'll give some general ideas, but I'm sure you've already figured these things out yourself.  Make your foods/liquids multitask.  An example is that you can get hydration, calories, protien and fats from drinking milk instead of water, which only provides hydration.  Cooking with additives like whey powder or protien powder can stretch the value you get from each time you eat.  Unfortunately, losing a ton of weight (and accompanying strength) is just what happens.  I dropped from 165 pre cancer to 115 post surgey.  I regained a good chunk of that and then had a recurrence where I dropped from 145 to 110.  The recurrence was in 2011.  I now weigh 175, which is the heaviest I've ever been.  It took a long time (and a lot of vomiting from overeating/reflux) but I'm happy with my pot belly.  

I'd suggest you work with your doctor and the hospital's oncology nutritionist to figure out what will work best for you.  

I hope things continue to go well for you.  From what you've described, you're ahead of the curve.

Best Wishes,

Ed

Death or Glory

Thanks Ed.

I appreciate the response. I was told by my surgeon that my stomach and my capacity to eat would not expand. It is good to know that is not the case, although I don't know if I can stand all of the overeating and subsequent vomiting to achieve that. You reallly are a maniac! I feel like my biggest problem is that I never feel hungry and it is difficult for me to eat by  the clock. I have talked to the nutritionist and I don't know if she has ever dealt with someone who has had EC surgery. I have received better advice on this website than I have from the medical community as far as recovery and eating strategies.

The only reason this website is so valuable, especially for people like me, who are recently out of surgery, is because of people like you who keep helping EC patients even though your own surgery was years ago. For that I am very grateful.

Thanks again, Ed, for your thoughts and sharing your experiences.

Tom

Deathorglory

pvilletom said:

Death or Glory

Thanks Ed.

I appreciate the response. I was told by my surgeon that my stomach and my capacity to eat would not expand. It is good to know that is not the case, although I don't know if I can stand all of the overeating and subsequent vomiting to achieve that. You reallly are a maniac! I feel like my biggest problem is that I never feel hungry and it is difficult for me to eat by  the clock. I have talked to the nutritionist and I don't know if she has ever dealt with someone who has had EC surgery. I have received better advice on this website than I have from the medical community as far as recovery and eating strategies.

The only reason this website is so valuable, especially for people like me, who are recently out of surgery, is because of people like you who keep helping EC patients even though your own surgery was years ago. For that I am very grateful.

Thanks again, Ed, for your thoughts and sharing your experiences.

Tom

It's very similar to bariatric surgery

Hello Tom,

In practical terms, an esophajectomy is very similar to bariatric surgery, which if you research has a lot of people regain all of the weight they've lost as their new stomach expands and adjusts.  It isn't a quick or painless process, but I can now get my money's worth at all you can eat restuarants.  Those previously obese folks who get bariatric surgery and then regain all the weighr they lost go through the same thing.  

There will be times, as you have noticed, where eating is much more a medical obligation than an epicurean affair.  You just have to commit to eating x amount of food y times a day (x and y being specific to you, not anyone else).  Whether you want to or not is irrelevant.  It's a medical thing, not an enjoying yourself thing.  That part of it can last a while.  It was about 9-12 months after surgery until I was eating for enjoyment.  My second go around with EC had me on Folfox (a particularly brutal chemotherapy regimen) and I couldn't enjoy many foods because my sense of taste was thrown for a loop and things just weren't the same to me.  Also, food & drink temperatures were a big issue.  I was extremely sensitive to spices and couldn't eat anything that was moderately spicy.  And cold food & drink were brutally painful.  But I still had to eat, so it was a medical necessity, not something done for enjoyment.  

I appreciate that you find what I do here useful.  I lurked here for years, just reading.  I didn't register, much less post, for quite a while.  Finally I thought to myself that it was time to repay the site for the benefit I got from it.  Hopefully, someday you'll pay it forward to the next batch of folks at some future time that will be dealing with the things you're dealing with now.

Best Wishes,

Ed

l

pvilletom

Deathorglory said:

It's very similar to bariatric surgery

Hello Tom,

In practical terms, an esophajectomy is very similar to bariatric surgery, which if you research has a lot of people regain all of the weight they've lost as their new stomach expands and adjusts.  It isn't a quick or painless process, but I can now get my money's worth at all you can eat restuarants.  Those previously obese folks who get bariatric surgery and then regain all the weighr they lost go through the same thing.  

There will be times, as you have noticed, where eating is much more a medical obligation than an epicurean affair.  You just have to commit to eating x amount of food y times a day (x and y being specific to you, not anyone else).  Whether you want to or not is irrelevant.  It's a medical thing, not an enjoying yourself thing.  That part of it can last a while.  It was about 9-12 months after surgery until I was eating for enjoyment.  My second go around with EC had me on Folfox (a particularly brutal chemotherapy regimen) and I couldn't enjoy many foods because my sense of taste was thrown for a loop and things just weren't the same to me.  Also, food & drink temperatures were a big issue.  I was extremely sensitive to spices and couldn't eat anything that was moderately spicy.  And cold food & drink were brutally painful.  But I still had to eat, so it was a medical necessity, not something done for enjoyment.  

I appreciate that you find what I do here useful.  I lurked here for years, just reading.  I didn't register, much less post, for quite a while.  Finally I thought to myself that it was time to repay the site for the benefit I got from it.  Hopefully, someday you'll pay it forward to the next batch of folks at some future time that will be dealing with the things you're dealing with now.

Best Wishes,

Ed

l

Not what I was told

Hello Ed,

Once again I believe I got bad information from the medical community. I asked that very question of my surgeon before the surgery.  I have a friend who had the bariatric surgery about seven years ago and after five years he weighed the same as when he first had the surgery. I specifically mentioned how his stomach must have expanded because he could eat as much or more than he did before the surgery. My surgeon said it was a different kind of surgery to a different part of the stomach and that my capacity will expand somewhat, but it will never be close to what it was.

You are absolutely right about eating being a totally medical thing right now. Almost nothing I eat is enjoyable.  I am only eating to get calories, the more the better. It sucks that I don't like or can't tolerate the high calorie drinks out there. You made me laugh out loud with the comment about all you can eat joints. I have a few friends that are quite large and really like to go to those places. I barely got my moneys worth before the surgery (my max weight before surgery was 170 or so, now down to 155 and still using the feeding tube).

I can only hope that I am aroung long enough to be able to pay it forward the way you have.

Thanks Ed

Tom

danc1962

Hi. My name is Daniel. I was

Hi. My name is Daniel. I was diagnosed with small cell squamous cancer in September of 2016. After the surgery to remove part of the tumor which was t3, I did six chemo and 35 radiation treatments. All checks since have been clear. I am definitely still healing. Fatigue is the worst thing left. Early this week I began to get dizzy. I am going tomorrow to get checked. Also, the radiation pretty much ruined my lower teeth. I am thankful for the great care of the physicians and am blessed by the Lord no matter what. Keep strong. Dan

mardigras

oesophagel cancer

Adenocarcino a

September 2011

stage111

mardigras

marlin307 said:

Roll call

Mother in law diagnosed w/ stage IV adenocarcinoma Oct 2017 age 62.  Tumor to lower esophagus, spread to liver, lesion on a lung, L2 lumbar, some lymph nodes.  She starts chemo, folfox, Monday 11/20.  We currently do not have results for HER2.  Very nervous for her, she seems to be rapidlly declining, very nauseated today.  We had 2nd opinion at MD Anderson in Houston this past week.  Trying to find a way to keep her healthy thru nutrition.  If anyone has tips they would like to share, it would be greatly appreciated. 

Nutrition

Hello Marlin,

I’m so sorry that your Mother seems to be struggling. Hopefully she will be able to cope with the chemo and stay strong.

My husband was stage 3 and was able to have an oesophagectomy, but had lost a great deal of weight by the time the op came around.

We are English, but live in the Canaries now as my family are here. Prior to his op, we kept him healthy and upped his strength by giving him porridge for breakfast, with cream. Also a smoothie mid morning with blue fruits( when the blackberries are available, pick loads and freeze them).. I used the frozen ones when I couldn’t get fresh with Greek yogurt. In the afternoon he had a third of a tub of quark with Mango or a soft fruit and a teaspoon of linseed oil. These are all things that the Canarians use to treat cancer. I don’t know if you Mother has swallowing problems, but if she can swallow, Robs favourite was chicken in coconut milk, with lemon grass, ginger and peanut butter. I served that with rice. If you would like the recipe, i’ll Write it out for you.

i also made watercress soup which he loved and I think he needed the iron. The chemo seems to deplete iron. Again, if you would like the recipe, i’ll write it for you.

There is a train of thought here that baking soda helps to treat cancer. We read a lot about it at the time. My husband decided that it couldn’t hurt , so puts a half teaspoon in a glass with a little water and drinks it.

he was diagnosed in July 2011 and is still healthy. He now eats pretty much what he likes, but still loves all the things he had before and after surgery.

His weight stabilized quite early on and he has maintained a reasonable weight and his strength is good.

We also walked every day and I think that helps.

i do hope your Mother will cope with the chemo.

If I can help further, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Hugs,

Marci