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Fasting for Chemo Treatments
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soknwt
Even before treatment began I was strongly encouraged to eat as much as possible, especially protein ...and to not be concerned with things that are usually not recommended (ice cream, pasta, carbs, hamburgers,etc and fattening things! ) I was told that now was the time to indulge myself.
I had very little appetite and ate very little. The idea is to maintain your weight and nutritional status which is is critical for healing! Also, drink lots of water and other fluids as hydration is essential.
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Soknwt...
Hi, I was dx with anal cancer about 6 1/2 years ago and one year later with breast cancer. At that time studies were being conducted on the effectiveness of fasting and chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer patients. I had read several articles on the topic, but reminded that these studies were done on rats NOT humans, and while a potential learning tool, it is important to note the different factors that come into play. I was encouraged like the others to eat high protien foods and whatever I could to avoid malnutrition. I have not seen any current studies in recent years on this topic.
Here is an excerpt from one article:
Rodents are different from human beings in many ways and are not a good model for assessing the long-term effects of a proposed treatment strategy. Fasting during chemotherapy could have unintended long-term consequences. For example, it is not implausible that fasting could trigger cancer cell adaptive systems (to cope with the stress of a lack of nutrients). This in turn could result in a rebound effect in any cancer cells not killed by chemotherapy, an effect that could heighten their aggressiveness.
Please let us know if you find any new positive information on this, but know that most doctors do encourage current patients to eat as mentioned.
Be well....
katheryn
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I am naturally thin and when diagnosed
I was told to gain weight while i could because i would lose weight. So every day i ate a big mac, fries & shake for lunch. I had no naseau at all during treatment, didnt lose weight. In fact GAINED 10 pounds from those big macs & shakes & have never been able to get those 10 pounds off
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I Can't Imagine that Would be a Good Idea
I actually intentionally gained some weight prior to chemo, and lost just what I had gained. I then had a major surgery and lost some more, but that's another story.
I have always eaten healthy and worked out (lifting weights), so my mind set going into this was to be as strong and healthy as possible. If you don't have any weight to lose, and then you lose weight, you are going to be weak. There are enough chemicals in your body making eating difficult that you don't need to start out thin and weak. I never got so weak that I couldn't walk up the one flight of stairs to the infusion center.
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