Supplements During Treatment

Informed opinion differs a lot on this subject, which is a popular one here.

Most experts agree that patients on chemo should avoid supplements, at least until approved by their doctor. Many supplemnts are known to impede the effectiveness of chemotherapy.

Simon24 said:

Supplements and Chemo

Hi,

  While on R-CHOP my husband with (DLBCL) stopped taking Vitamin C because we read that it could interfere with his chemo.  I don't remember where we saw that information, but needless to say he stopped taking it during chemo.  He stopped taking most of the supplements he used to take with the exception of magnesium and B12. He was very anemic so we thought the B12 was probably not going to hurt.  The doctors asked him if he took any supplements before he started chemo and they did not object to those supplements for him.  Each person is different though and I would ask your oncologist what you can safely take.  We found this on the Mayo Clinic website and this might be helpful to you. too.  http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements  Click on the supplement and then click on "Interactions". 

                                                                                                                                          Simone

 

 

When I started my cancer/chemo journey I made a list. the first part was my prescriptions and the second part was the supplements. For all I put the dosage and when I took them and how many. The oncologist went over the lsit with me asking why? for each one. One precription was dropped (water pill). Certain supplements were dropped, some the amoutn ebing taken was alerted and some the time I took them was changed. The issue is that some supplements can itneract with some chemo drugs. I let the experts review things and tell me what to do. 

One example is that on the day I get Rituxan I am not to take my blood pressure pill. That is because Rituxan can lower the blood pressure so taking the pill the same day could bring down the blood pressure to a dangerous level. 

My recommnedation is to keep 1 list, like I did, that has prescriptions and supplements. You give that complete list any time they ask for a list of prescriptions. Trust me, it is the best we can do to help ourselves.

Linda

A**holes - Everybody has one!!     I was just recently diagnosed with CLL / SLL and I have done a ton or research because I am worried about chemo for the Lymphoma affecting my Leukemia and pushing it into a more aggressive form.  Unfortunately, both my father (CML) and my grandmother (CLL) died from their Leukemia's.  Although my grandmother lived until 82. So, before I do any type of Chemo that my Oncologist wants me to do - I am planning on changing my diet and adding various supplements to BUILD my immune system up and detox the cancerous cells already in my body. 

Everybody's cancer is individual and you have to advocate for yourself.  You can never have too much information!! Information helps you to make an informed decision on your treatment plan.  Keep a list like someone in another comment suggested so that when you are ready for standard treatment - your Oncologist will also have the information to base her decision on... Good Luck on your Journey!!

NANCYL1 said:

SUPPLEMENTS

KANIKSU:

 

MY doctors want to know what pills and supplements I might be taking.  Check with your doctors before you add supplements.  They might not go with other medication.

Also, be careful what websites you get information from.  I used to listen to a doctor on the radio who pushed supplements.  After awhile, it became clear that he seemed to be benefiting financially when people sent orders for supplements.

Nancy

Before I started chemo I was researching my cancer and what people were saying about their treatments. I have read postings where people have said how their dr told them to stop taking certain supplements because it would effect how the chemo drugs work. In one case a person posted that they found one of hte herbal teas they drank contained a herb in it that was also in a supplement they were told to stop taking. 

It did make me realize that when going through chemo to be careful of what I put into my body. Food, drinks, supplements, etc. My oncologist has told me to not take ibuprofen when doing chemo so I also avoid my chai (starbucks), mexican & Indian foods. They all contain spices that have anti-inflammatory compontents like Ibuprofen does. Since I was on a 3 week routine for the chemo treaments I would often treat myself to a Chai about 2 days before my next chemo. I also avoid foods high in antiioxidants during treatments since some reports show that it can have a negative effect on cancer treatments. 

http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/antioxidants-fact-sheet#q4

The chemo drugs are strong and the oncologist know dosages to give a patient to get the best results. If we take things that can affect how the drugs work without letting our dr know about it, we can be compromising our treatments. I would rather give up foods and drinks I like for a few months knowing it gives the chemo the best chance to work the way it is supposed to. I agree wiht my Drs, if in doubt don't take it. 

NANCYL1 said:

SUPPLEMENTS

Lindary:

Your post re supplements is very interesting.  It supports what I hear about supplements: always check with the doctor.

Nancy

I stopped taking all my supplements just before my first R-CHOP. There was enough documentation out there, including my oncologist, to convince me to give chemo the very best opportunity I could.  So I'll wait until treatments are complete and then I think I'll have a fun review of which supplements I want to continue.  After all, none of them did a damn bit of good preventing cancer!  Best wishes!

In my feeble opinion I would highly recommend finding a nutritionist approved by your oncologist.  The right fit can be very helpful indeed.  I would seek a professional and NOT the Internet.

I have walked the walk, talked the talk of health and nutrition yet I'm here.

I have oncologists one at Dana Farber Cancer Institue, Roswell Park Cancer institute and one in my hometown.  My oncologist and best friend (oncologists) all are firm believers in nutrition.  

Supplementation is tricky.  Buying the right product becomes a daunting task let alone considering your genes, their interactions with you, drugs......vitamins are even crazy in this world.  For example my oncologist put me on vitamin B12.  My nutritionist insisted on testing my blood to see what form of B12 I should take.   There is a HUGE difference.  The one my oncologist gave me could have hurt me.

Personally I get the vitamins in food form, I have  Great Success in this.

Because of my diagonsis, I Dammed my previous healthy lifestyle.  Every doctor from local to top national oncologist convinced me that had I not been so good with nutrition, I would be in much worse condition.  So I continue to raise the bar and eat well.

good luck.

unknown said:

Same here

i took vitamins and supplements for years. I mainntained my ideal body weight and was very, very active. In the years leading up to my diagnosis I was advised to use nutrition, exercise, rest and supplements to fight my inexplicable fatigue. My wife cooks only organic and has for years. Yet here I am, stage IV lymphoma. I am convinced that most cancer is caused by random exposure to chemicals and/ or radiation. Dumb luck in other words. A single episode of exposure to dioxin for example may fester for decades before presenting as lymphoma? What is lymphoma anyway? It is a situation where the dna in a single white cell is damaged. This cell then starts to clone itself. This may happen several times over a lifetime but the immune system kills most of them. However one little guy hides and festers possibly for decades and then goes crazy producing billions of clones. Then there is the genetic factor - naturally occuring dna transmutation. Eat well, eat little and that may help. No doubt about that. However there is no defense against random events. People with healthy lifestyles get cancer. Its just a fact. And I see no evidence that these healthy people, unlike the people living unhealthy lifestyles, are less likely to get lymphoma. 

I agree with what GKH wrote here so much that I just had to say so.  Oncology does not really know why one individual gets lymphoma, but another does not, except for the randomness GK described.

Good nutrition is always a good thing, and promotes general health, even if it does not prevent cancer or the recurrance of cancer.  But many segments of our society view good eating as a MORAL imperative, not just a good idea.  Some (who I have met) see an occasional hot dog not as an indulgence, but as WRONG.  Cigarette smokers are not stupid in their view, but EVIL.  I have never smoked in my life, and do indeed regard smoking as the dumbest thing a person can do, but it does not make the smoker morally depraved.

Think of a human individual as a planet hurling through space.  One will randomly get hit by a meteor or comet, most won't. It is not becasue one planet did something "wrong" when the others didn't.   So too with cancer: one guy will get it, another won't.  If I may get a little "Freudian", most obsession over diet ties into a false sense of control that people naturally desire; they want to know that they are "doing the right thing," and "therefore won't get sick."  But it does not work that way; the evidence refutes it.

A dear friend named Gary was dying of prostate cancer two years ago in Hospice.  He had a week or less to live.  His daughter, who is an RN, and a health "nut," was in the room.  Another dear friend, Gary's soulmate, walked in with a milkshake, which he took and devoured; he had been unwilling to eat or drink until he saw that milkshake.  It did him a world of good.   His daughter pulled me outside and said, "How dare her give him that sugar ! It is going to help the cancer !"    I was stunned at her ignorance, her disconnect from where Gary was at on his pending death.   A man with 72 hours to live, and she is worried about "sugar."

The milkshake was the last food or drink he took in his life. I'm damned glad he got it and enjoyed it.

Proportion, reasonableness is the key.  A hot dog is not going to make anyone fall over dead, and a spinich sandwich is not going to make anyone live to be 100. 

When I want a beer, I drink it.  It will not "make my lymphoma relapse."  I do not get drunk and am not an alcoholic, for that would indeed (gradually) damage the liver, but not cause lymphoma. 

I love the life story of Jim Fixx, the "runner's guru" from the 1970s.  He was the "health god" of the time, writing many books on "heart health." His books all had one theme: How running would give extend life.  I bought them all, and was myself a fitness zombie, running an average of 26 miles a week. 

Then, one day, the news broke: Jim Fixx was found dead, of a heart attack, while out running  !! At 52 years of age !

The irony is beyond anythng anyone could make up.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx

.

Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 said:

Soulmates

 

I agree with what GKH wrote here so much that I just had to say so.  Oncology does not really know why one individual gets lymphoma, but another does not, except for the randomness GK described.

Good nutrition is always a good thing, and promotes general health, even if it does not prevent cancer or the recurrance of cancer.  But many segments of our society view good eating as a MORAL imperative, not just a good idea.  Some (who I have met) see an occasional hot dog not as an indulgence, but as WRONG.  Cigarette smokers are not stupid in their view, but EVIL.  I have never smoked in my life, and do indeed regard smoking as the dumbest thing a person can do, but it does not make the smoker morally depraved.

Think of a human individual as a planet hurling through space.  One will randomly get hit by a meteor or comet, most won't. It is not becasue one planet did something "wrong" when the others didn't.   So too with cancer: one guy will get it, another won't.  If I may get a little "Freudian", most obsession over diet ties into a false sense of control that people naturally desire; they want to know that they are "doing the right thing," and "therefore won't get sick."  But it does not work that way; the evidence refutes it.

A dear friend named Gary was dying of prostate cancer two years ago in Hospice.  He had a week or less to live.  His daughter, who is an RN, and a health "nut," was in the room.  Another dear friend, Gary's soulmate, walked in with a milkshake, which he took and devoured; he had been unwilling to eat or drink until he saw that milkshake.  It did him a world of good.   His daughter pulled me outside and said, "How dare her give him that sugar ! It is going to help the cancer !"    I was stunned at her ignorance, her disconnect from where Gary was at on his pending death.   A man with 72 hours to live, and she is worried about "sugar."

The milkshake was the last food or drink he took in his life. I'm damned glad he got it and enjoyed it.

Proportion, reasonableness is the key.  A hot dog is not going to make anyone fall over dead, and a spinich sandwich is not going to make anyone live to be 100. 

When I want a beer, I drink it.  It will not "make my lymphoma relapse."  I do not get drunk and am not an alcoholic, for that would indeed (gradually) damage the liver, but not cause lymphoma. 

I love the life story of Jim Fixx, the "runner's guru" from the 1970s.  He was the "health god" of the time, writing many books on "heart health." His books all had one theme: How running would give extend life.  I bought them all, and was myself a fitness zombie, running an average of 26 miles a week. 

Then, one day, the news broke: Jim Fixx was found dead, of a heart attack, while out running  !! At 52 years of age !

The irony is beyond anythng anyone could make up.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Fixx

.

 

I had just replied to GKH and then saw your post.  I loved what you had to say about the milkshake because my husband sure had a lot of them during chemo.  When other things had no taste, the milkshakes were always welcome.  He is starting to gain weight again and won't be drinking milkshakes as often, but at the time they were wonderful.  Some of the cookbooks that I borrowed from the cancer center had some great recipes for people who had lost weight and there were some good recipes for shakes. I'm sure that Gary enjoyed that last shake and so glad he got it.  The Jim Fixx story was very interesting. Living our lives in moderation with a few beers and shakes on the side sound good to me.             Simone

lindary said:

Causes

I love the flow of this discussion.

Since I was told I was in remission as of Nov I've been pretty much back to my old eating habits. I am trying to be more active with some mild success. One thing I am reminded of is a co-worker who was diagnosed with multiple mylenoma about 15 years ago. He was a vegetarian and, as far as I know, he never smoked. He did enjoy a beer or glass of wine now and then. He fought his cancer for around 11 years and went into remission several times only to have it come back. I remember him saying, more than once, "I am living proof that being a vegetarian does not mean you won't be overweight and you can't get cancer.". 

So once in a while we have hotdogs for dinner with no guilt. 

There are those who do all the right things and strive who will be better for it and never get cancer.  

Then there's mutant cell me.  I should say I have been a vegetarian for almost thirty years, organic as many well know on this site.  Very physically fit but what I didn't tell you, I drank insane amounts of Diet Coke for years.  Never water, swore I was allergic to It.  I wonder, my father worked around chemicals.  Is there some secondary chemical effect?  We were both diagnosed within three weeks of each other?  Where I lived?  Yet hopefully no one else in my family will get it..... ???

Being a vegetarian too has it problems, before diagnosis I didn't clean them the way we all should.  There is a link to pesticides and lymphoma.  Let's not forget, to protect oneself via food we would have to eat bushels full everyday and drinks so much red wine we would be admitted into the Betty Ford CliniC and still there are no guarantee.

I have have stage IV follicular.  I'm told this is more prevalent in men, who are overweight, in there 70's and carnivores.  I have always been very thin, in my forties when diagnosised, vegetarian and very much a female.  My dad was in his late 70's (miss him so much it hurts) smoked, I never did.  Drank Beer, I drink wine, he never worked out, I was and will be again a gym rat.  He ate meat, I eat leaves.

Random indeed!

Finally I eat anything and everything I want, always have.  I quite simply prefer the foods that make me FEEL better.  I never ate to be healthy but to perform.  Food is fuel to me.  I gave up meat when I was 13 for Lent.  On Easter I recall eating meat and recalling how I felt.  The long digestive process, sluggish feeling wasn't for me.  That's the only reason I became a vegetarian.

Off my soap box for now and getting a glass of wine!  May we all have a Happy, Healty New Year.