Foods to eat during chemo
Staring chemo soon and was wonderful about others experience with foods that can be tolerated. I know we are all different but need some suggestions .
Comments
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Watermelon
The only thing that really tasted good during chemo!
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Thanks for the reminder CQ, I
Thanks for the reminder CQ, I never thought I would NEVER want to eat, but chemo taught me!
If possible, maybe you can see if there is a dietician in your cancer center that works with patients who are going through cancer treatment. I didn't get it until I went through radiation (in the middle) and wished I had met earlier, as all I was told was, "Push the protien". What does that mean?
The dietician told me to get 7 - 9 portions o f protein each day. An egg counted - one, yogurt counted - one, an ounce of cheese - one, an ounce of nuts - one, you see how it goes. It was hard to want to eat, but I knew it was to help me heal and get strong and had to force myself.
I realize some people are vegetarians, but they know how to get protein in their diet.
Finally, I would suggest if you don't currently take probiotics you might want to think about starting. Especially when you get the radiation. The dietician I was working with showed me a study with women who did and did not take probiotics during radiation for cervical cancer. I will say it was dramatic (and graphic).
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https://www.dana-farber.org/health-library/videos/eating-well-during-cancer/
The above link might be helpful for you. I was told to avoid spicy and acidic foods during chemo as well as to eat low-fiber foods. No problem because I really didn't want to eat much anyway....except for watermelon, like CQ said. There's just something about it. Chicken, yogurt, and eggs were the only protein I could stand, so at least I was getting some protein. It's also important to drink a crazy amount of fluids to flush out the chemo and keep the constipation controllable. Miralax and water will be your best friends for awhile.
Please read the threads on preventing neuropathy before you start, too. You won't regret it.
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Thank you No Time For Cancer
Thank you No Time For Cancer a lot of great information I like all the foods you mentioned should go ok I'm a healthy eater anyways with the exception of a few sweets and chocolate and I know I need to let go of all that will look into the probiotics .
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Thank you MAbound I see where
Thank you MAbound I see where spicy would not settle too good. I'm thankful for all the great advice and I know I will get through. What about protein drinks? I know they have a lot of carbs and not sure of the dairy. Is coffee not good either?
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Watermelon indeed
Watermelon was key for me, too. I got the recommendation from the ladies here and it was a godsend. I can't believe how much watermelon I ate everyday!
I'm vegetarian and did push the protein, largely through eggs, yogurt, goat cheese, cow cheese, feta, nuts.
I also want to second the point about water, both during and between infusions. The ladies here had advised me to hydrate well and so I drank water steadily during infusions, even when I didn't feel like it, and pushed fluids hard in the days right after. I didn't have terrible problems with constipation, as many do, and I think it's in part due to the amount of water I drank.
I did not suffer from nausea at all from chemo (carboplatin and paclitaxel), and my taste buds went very flat, so I found it helped to eat zestier and spicy foods. My husband went out for Mexican takeout a lot!
There are additional pointers at this thread, many of which helped me tremendously during chemo, which ended for me last September.
Chemo affects each of us a little differently, so you'll have to see how you feel and experiment.
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Dont know what it is about
Dont know what it is about watermelon but that worked for me too. On my good days i tried to eat better. I snacked on peanuts alot. I lost a lot of weight from surgery so didnt want to loose more. Im a thin person an couldnt afford to loose it. That wasmy motivation to keep eating. Chicken was okay for me. I drank carnation instant breakfasts on my worst days. It think it help especially towards the end.
I would use the miralax as MA bound suggested. My first chemo was a bugger because i got contapation. When i started taking miralax before i even had the fallowing treatments ( i think it wasthe day before treatment) i never had the problem again.
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I could tolerate oatmeal.janaes said:Dont know what it is about
Dont know what it is about watermelon but that worked for me too. On my good days i tried to eat better. I snacked on peanuts alot. I lost a lot of weight from surgery so didnt want to loose more. Im a thin person an couldnt afford to loose it. That wasmy motivation to keep eating. Chicken was okay for me. I drank carnation instant breakfasts on my worst days. It think it help especially towards the end.
I would use the miralax as MA bound suggested. My first chemo was a bugger because i got contapation. When i started taking miralax before i even had the fallowing treatments ( i think it wasthe day before treatment) i never had the problem again.
Welcome to the board. My nausea was similar to my pregnancy nausea. Meat smells, cooking oils, perfumes, certain food odors made me worse. I did eat meat, just couldn't be around it when it was cooking. This gradually went away. I found I could tolerate oatmeal, as everything tasted so metallic the non-flavor gave me calories. I was told to drink 64 oz of water a day to flush the chemo from the body, protect the kidneys, which did not include any other liquids like tea or juice, so I was floating away. My first chemo was full strength and everything tasted bad, including the water so I would gag it down a glass an hour until I fulfilled my quota. The last chemos were 80% strength so the nausea and metallic taste were much less. I had constipation in the first few days after chemo no matter how much water I drank, followed by diarrhea for a few days. I took the stool softeners everyday, except during diarrhea. Drinking all of the water daily until a month after chemo was a huge challenge but I did it anyway. In some ways it was the hardest to deal with as an inordinate amount of my time was spent drinking, then peeing. I still continue to drink a lot of water everyday.
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Yes I can see where certainBluebirdOne said:I could tolerate oatmeal.
Welcome to the board. My nausea was similar to my pregnancy nausea. Meat smells, cooking oils, perfumes, certain food odors made me worse. I did eat meat, just couldn't be around it when it was cooking. This gradually went away. I found I could tolerate oatmeal, as everything tasted so metallic the non-flavor gave me calories. I was told to drink 64 oz of water a day to flush the chemo from the body, protect the kidneys, which did not include any other liquids like tea or juice, so I was floating away. My first chemo was full strength and everything tasted bad, including the water so I would gag it down a glass an hour until I fulfilled my quota. The last chemos were 80% strength so the nausea and metallic taste were much less. I had constipation in the first few days after chemo no matter how much water I drank, followed by diarrhea for a few days. I took the stool softeners everyday, except during diarrhea. Drinking all of the water daily until a month after chemo was a huge challenge but I did it anyway. In some ways it was the hardest to deal with as an inordinate amount of my time was spent drinking, then peeing. I still continue to drink a lot of water everyday.
Yes I can see where certain smells would get to you. I do drink quite a bit of water normally so I can get the water down unless nausea prevents it.well I'm sure it will be a challenge and I will be praying. Did you have a port put in? Oncologist said that is best, my veins don't always cooperate for bold draws so I know that is a positive. Thanks again have a blessed day
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Thank you Janea for thejanaes said:Dont know what it is about
Dont know what it is about watermelon but that worked for me too. On my good days i tried to eat better. I snacked on peanuts alot. I lost a lot of weight from surgery so didnt want to loose more. Im a thin person an couldnt afford to loose it. That wasmy motivation to keep eating. Chicken was okay for me. I drank carnation instant breakfasts on my worst days. It think it help especially towards the end.
I would use the miralax as MA bound suggested. My first chemo was a bugger because i got contapation. When i started taking miralax before i even had the fallowing treatments ( i think it wasthe day before treatment) i never had the problem again.
Thank you Janea for the watmelon idea as others have commented it works plus I will get extra fluids.yes I can see where you need something to prevent constipation. Did you have a port put in for treatment my oncologist said it's the way to go, my veins don't always cooperate for blood draws so I'm glad I had that done. Thank you again have a blessed day
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Yep the port was a great
Yep the port was a great thing. I dont have the greatest veins either so the port gave me one less thing to worry about. I had a different cancer over 20 years ago and didnt have a port put in at first. I had one chemo appointment where the nurse poked me five times before it worked. Thats when the port was born for me. This last time i new i had to have the port.
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No portLuckyluke said:Yes I can see where certain
Yes I can see where certain smells would get to you. I do drink quite a bit of water normally so I can get the water down unless nausea prevents it.well I'm sure it will be a challenge and I will be praying. Did you have a port put in? Oncologist said that is best, my veins don't always cooperate for bold draws so I know that is a positive. Thanks again have a blessed day
I did not have a port put in as I only had 4 chemo treatments, but if I recur and I have to have more chemo I will most likely have to get one. I have two knobby things on my hand veins from so many IV's.
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Just been two days ago forjanaes said:Yep the port was a great
Yep the port was a great thing. I dont have the greatest veins either so the port gave me one less thing to worry about. I had a different cancer over 20 years ago and didnt have a port put in at first. I had one chemo appointment where the nurse poked me five times before it worked. Thats when the port was born for me. This last time i new i had to have the port.
Just been two days ago for having the port still somewhat sore but sure it will be good to go by the time they start the chemo. Oncologist said I would probably feel really tired first week after first round and I guess the remaining two weeks hopefully should be ok.Time will tell. Have a good day
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Yep, he/she's probably right.Luckyluke said:Just been two days ago for
Just been two days ago for having the port still somewhat sore but sure it will be good to go by the time they start the chemo. Oncologist said I would probably feel really tired first week after first round and I guess the remaining two weeks hopefully should be ok.Time will tell. Have a good day
Yep, he/she's probably right. I really did feel pretty good preceding each cycle.
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Luckyluke, Welcome to the
Luckyluke, Welcome to the board and I'm glad you found us! There is a long thread from 2015 that you may want to read. It is called 'Ladies going through chemo' and it documented the chemo journies of several ladies on this board. Lots of discussion on foods and other impacts/solultions that I believe will help you. Good luck as you start this and know that you are stronger than you think. You will get through it and surprise yourself. Feel free to come back and ask us anything! We are an open group and will provide information on just about anything.
Love and Hugs,
Cindi
ps - I had a port. Glad I did even though I have great veins.
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Lucky, my first round was the
Lucky, my first round was the worst. After that they got easier. Other women have reported the same. One mistake I made was not pushing fluids, and waiting to take anti-nausea medication until I was about to vomit. Since then, I start drinking furiously the morning of chemo, before it starts, and continue right through it, and for the next 48 hrs at least, to flush the chemo out of my system. The first round I was dehydrated and I had a lot of bladder and kidney pain, as if the chemo had burned them. Didn't have that with subsequent rounds because of the furious drinking, to the point where I was urinating every 20 minutes.
Unfortunately, I developed an aversion to the taste of water after round three! I switched to seltzer, flavored with a little bit of cider or grape juice.
One problem I had with chilling my hands and feet is that I would fall asleep and my feet would rest on the bottom of the container of ice water, thus impeding the circulation of ice water under the balls of the feet. This last (I hope) round, we will nest the container into another container, with a big freezer pack between the two containers. Maybe that will help.
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On the food front, the first
On the food front, the first round, the only thing I wanted to eat was Fettucine Alfredo. But a single serving from the Cheesecake Factory lasted me for two days - and that was ALL I ate. Another round I craved rare red meat. Scrambled eggs with cheese were the only thing I could stomach in the mornings. This latest round it was flounder Francese style (drenched in egg and flour, sauteed in butter, with a lemon butter sauce). I acquired a taste for salt on foods (usually I don't, due to high blood pressure). Most rounds I really couldn't eat much the first week, lost over 5 lbs the first week each time, then gained it back as soon as I started eating again. Overall I lost weight during the first few rounds, now I'm gaining it back with the last rounds. After this is all over, I'm going to have to go on a diet. But it's really hard to diet when you are so nauseated as I was (just like pregnancy, when I had horrible nausea the entire 9 months each time), and you're trying to calm your stomach with starchy foods.
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Eating
I know different places have differing methods, here was what mine did. First I was given both a short acting anti nausea thing (IV through the port) then a long lasting one and also a Benadryl. Then the chemo, Carbo for 3 hours and Taxol for 30 minutes. They want you to eat lunch while you are there, I was fine with that. At home I had Lorazapam, which I only tried once, and Prochlorper which I used a bit for the first couple of days. Then the ondansetron after that. The iv stuff they gave me interferes with ondansetron for the first 2 days and basically cancel each other out. I felt really icky but never threw up. I could not stand water for about 3 days, it tasted like rusty nails. I could drink V 8 and apple cider and ginger ale. I could eat soup, beef veg or chicken veg. After the first 2 or 3 days I liked things like lasagna, sphagetti and meat. I found that It made no difference to my stomach if I ate, it didn’t make me feel worse. I did like watermelon, and my life saver is a brand of yogurt called Zoi, honey flavor, best yogurt ever! If you get a sore mouth, mix 1/4 tsp baking soda and 1/8 tsp salt in a glass of warm water and rinse your mouth, luckily I only had to do this once after the first round, after that my mouth was fine
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Thank you ZsaZsa1 for all thezsazsa1 said:Lucky, my first round was the
Lucky, my first round was the worst. After that they got easier. Other women have reported the same. One mistake I made was not pushing fluids, and waiting to take anti-nausea medication until I was about to vomit. Since then, I start drinking furiously the morning of chemo, before it starts, and continue right through it, and for the next 48 hrs at least, to flush the chemo out of my system. The first round I was dehydrated and I had a lot of bladder and kidney pain, as if the chemo had burned them. Didn't have that with subsequent rounds because of the furious drinking, to the point where I was urinating every 20 minutes.
Unfortunately, I developed an aversion to the taste of water after round three! I switched to seltzer, flavored with a little bit of cider or grape juice.
One problem I had with chilling my hands and feet is that I would fall asleep and my feet would rest on the bottom of the container of ice water, thus impeding the circulation of ice water under the balls of the feet. This last (I hope) round, we will nest the container into another container, with a big freezer pack between the two containers. Maybe that will help.
Thank you ZsaZsa1 for all the tips and advice it will for sure help me to get through.icing hands and feet and drinking a lot to flush myself. I guess you were continually getting up for the bathroom taking your meds with you
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