Dietary Changes

Diet
BC, I'm on Day 14 of treatment..

I hate that your diagnosis brought you here but Im glad you found this site. Trust me, you have found the perfect location for information from current sufferers and survivors of the exact same cancer you have. Don't be shy moving forward and reach out whenever you need to.

Diet? I was a fruit/greens smoothie drinker before my diagnosis and I stopped because of the fiber bulk you get from that. I learned in week 1 that diarrhea is common and was daily for me. My radiologist put it this way. You don't want to get yourself "going" to the point you can't stop it for days. So, I don't eat much fiber at all. Check out what is called a Low Residue Diet..it's what my medical team suggested for me.

I've also removed milk, nuts, citrus and high acid foods like tomato or tomato based products. That really helped me.

Take care and God Bless!!

GiGi

StruTanToot said:

My radiation oncologist told
My radiation oncologist told me to have a meat and potato diet, and that's essentially what I did. I only ate protein and carbs...no fruits or vegetables. You have to think the opposite way of how you view a healthy diet. A "regular" healthy diet is NOT healthy during treatment.

Again, I stuck with meat and carbs, including mac and cheese. Maybe I was lucky, maybe it was the medication, but I never had diarrhea. The pain medication balanced things out.

Now...when I finished treatment and while taking pain medication, I've had constipation. I definitely suggest a stool softener for post treatment and a laxative. I've needed both.

You're in a good place on this site and will get a lot of support. I wish you all the best. Also, I'll paste a list of things you might want to consider getting before you start treatment or start feeling the effects.


undergarments (ended up not needing them, but some folks do)
L-glutamine (15 grams twice a day) -- helps with radiation burns
bed pads
thermometer
plastic trash cans
ice packs (I did not need)
biotene mouthwash, toothpaste, gum
Dermoplast - spray to ease pain
Aqauphor
domeboro soaks (Domeboro Astringent Solution)
oatmeal baths
lip balm
Imodium
zyrtec - a lifesaver for me...totally stopped the itching.
protein drinks (Premier are the lowest price for highest amount of protein)
ice/popsicles
ginger tea (for nausea)
Ginger Ale
Water, water, water

To prevent mouth sores:
• eat/suck on ice starting 15 minutes before your chemo infusion. Continue throughout the infusion. The coldness prevents the chemo from damaging the mouth. This really works!
• Also, gargle several times a day with a mixture of salt and baking soda. This will also help prevent mouth sores.

This was priceless info for me
I just wanted you to know that this list was a God send to me. I was able to be proactive about what was taking place and my doctors did not give me all of these tips. The ice suggestion was listed in the drug info that the chemotherapy oncologists nurse gave me to read WHILE I was being infused. The doc nor the nurses gave me that heads up ahead of time. Can't do much about getting ice when you are strapped to a chair by an IV now, can ya?

I want to add a strong laxative to the list. Chemo made me so constipated! I didn't want to tip the scale very far so at first I took fiber pills, pink pills, ate salads and veggies whenever I could, drank gallons and gallons and gallons of water... no effect. (Still keep drinking the water.)

Make sure you have a thermometer to monitor your temp if you start feeling like you are coming down with something.

And something that I have found quite helpful is watching comedies. This helps keep my head in a good place and helps keep everthing manageable. I told my friends the day I got "the call" that I was going to laugh my way through this, even when it might get tough to even smile. Laughter releases hormones in your brain that makes you feel better and also dulls the pain.

Marynb said:

Bc

I am sorry you are going through this. I am wondering what the delay would be and if you are at a reputable cancer center? I just want to stress to you how very important it is to be treated by a team of experts at a very reputable hospital. It really matters in terms of outcomes. When I was diagnosed, I had family members researching cancer hospitals and doctors, my treatment began one week after diagnosis. The biopsy results came back in 4 days. I live in a state that does not have a reputable cancer hospital. I first started out with the surgeon who took the biopsy, and quickly realized that my treatment in my home state was going to be substandard. When dealng with cancer, make sure you have an excellent team. It is so important.

Stay positive. This cancer is very treatable and the treatment is pretty short in duration.

Eating during and after
BC
Well, my diet during chemo was rather unusual. I didn't have much of an appetite and was losing too much weight. I'm not a big person to start with. The nutrionist really got on my case. She basically told me to eat whatever I could handle regardless of whether I thought it was "healthy or not". Okay, so I lived on McDonald's cheeseburgers (no ketchup, no pickles), McDonald's french fries, vanilla ice cream, Ginger Ale, and homemade Greek cookies that my husband's family sent to me regulary. Not a healthy diet at all. But that's all I could handle and tolerate. After treatment I began to get my taste buds back. Salad was a no-no. I could not eat lettuce for at least 9 months after treatment. For the first month after treatment I ate macaroni and cheese for lunch - I tolerated it so I ate it. I slowly introduced vegables and fruit. Steaks were too heavy. Okay fast forward to period of new normalcy. I now eat salads, yogurt, fruit, veggies. No processed meats, little sugar. Limited beef, some chicken and fresh fish.

I should not be used as role model for my diet during chemo. But it worked for me when I combined it with the anti nausea meds. Important: dont' wait till you need them, assume you will. I waited and before long I regretted it. Started taking them and it made a big difference.

Everyone is different. Do what you need to do to get through it - and you will get through it. During treatment the focus should be on keeping your blood counts up, getting rest when your body tells you it's tired, staying HYDRATED, avoiding infection and staying strong - which means you will need food. Most importantly remembering that this is a cancer with a high cure rate.

We will all be here to help you through it.
Wishing you strength and healing,
Liz