Menu Item

HAWVET
HAWVET Member Posts: 318
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
What do you eat?
Although I seldom post on this forum, I do read many of the postings. I have discovered that many of you have the same problem like me. My and your saliva glands are over cooked. lol

I had nasopharyngeal cancer with just short of nine weeks of radiation treatment. It was followed up with direct radiation implant treatment a couple of months later. It is almost 10 years to the day when I had my last treatment. I ate my last steak a few days before that. Sometimes, I am frustrated and down in the dumps because of this eating handicap. Then, I think that I am alive and still around.

Here is one of my menu items. It is very difficult to eat a hamburger. I frequently eat meatloaf with mash potatoes and a lot of gravy. For the meatloaf, I combine about three fourths of a pound each of ground beef and pork in a large bowl. I place about a cup of stuffing in a separate bowl that has two scrambled eggs and half a cup of milk. After it is soaked, I mash the stuffing and add it to the meat. Then we add a least a cup of cooked rice and the stuffing mixture. The mixture is seasoned. I mash this mixture so the meat is not lumpy. Then, we bake it in a dish for an hour at 325 degrees.

We slice up the left over and freeze it. For sandwiches, I use one slice of that meat loaf. I add lettuce and tomato as a substitute for the missing saliva. I cut out the edges of the top crust of the bread. For added moisture, I dip the sandwich in a bowl of mushroom soup.

I am just adding something different to the forum. God bless you all.

Comments

  • sassyque
    sassyque Member Posts: 44
    #2
    Hi I read your posting and I thank you for the recipe.I had Cancer of the tongue and it has been 5 years for me.I have a very hard time eating and there are days I wish I didn't have this struggle but like you,I'm alive and kicking.I'm going to try your recipe and see if that works for me.My saliva glands are shot and it is very hard to swallow.Keep up the good work and congrats on your 10 years.Take care and God Bless...Sassyque
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #3
    The recipe is greatly appreciated and probably a very useful item to put in this particular area!

    I have a problem with breads due to the nature of my surgery (tongue can't quite reach the roof of my mouth in some places, where everything seems to get stuck :)), but I will definitely try it out.

    I have found that potato soup is a great break from mashed potatoes, by the way, and can be served in a number of ways, some zestier than others. I also have made a habit of finely dicing tomatoes and lettuce and other salad type ingredients to make a salad that I can handle - which becomes not one sort of meal but five or 10 depending on the different types of salad dressings you enjoy.

    Take care.
  • HAWVET
    HAWVET Member Posts: 318
    #4
    soccerfreaks said:

    The recipe is greatly appreciated and probably a very useful item to put in this particular area!

    I have a problem with breads due to the nature of my surgery (tongue can't quite reach the roof of my mouth in some places, where everything seems to get stuck :)), but I will definitely try it out.

    I have found that potato soup is a great break from mashed potatoes, by the way, and can be served in a number of ways, some zestier than others. I also have made a habit of finely dicing tomatoes and lettuce and other salad type ingredients to make a salad that I can handle - which becomes not one sort of meal but five or 10 depending on the different types of salad dressings you enjoy.

    Take care.

    SPHAGETTI

    Am glad you both like the recipe. I forgot that I also added a medium sized finely diced round onion. The mushroom soup is cream of mushroom. Actually, any kind of cream soup is okay. It sticks on the bread. The idea of adding the cooked rice/stuffing mix is so that the meat does not stick together too tight. If so, it becomes like a steak. I frequently add more rice.

    Thank you Soccerfreaks on the recommendation of the potato soup. I especially like the idea of dicing lettuce and tomato and making several days worth. I will definitely do that.

    Another cooking hint is when I eat spaghetti with meat sauce. I really do not need the meat because it too is sometimes hard to swallow, but I do use it. I also combine pork/beef and mash it to prevent lumping. For the noodles, I buy the thinnest possible. I most likely will substitute and use that Japanese noodle call SOMEN. I learned from a cooking recommendation that adding oil when boiling does not really keep the noodles from sticking. What is needed is more water. I also overcook the noodles.

    Oil coated noodles will prevent the sauce from sticking to the noodles. The rinsing of noodles after boiling will wash away the important starch from the outer layer. The starch layer is needed to allow the sauce to stick to the noodles. We need all the help possible so we can swallow.

    Bear in mind that I definitely am not a cook. I am trying to learn how to prepare things that I can eat. Incidentally, I too cannot chew gum. I removed some teeth and have a partial. The gum sticks to the partials.
  • wboaz
    wboaz Member Posts: 48
    #5
    HAWVET said:

    SPHAGETTI

    Am glad you both like the recipe. I forgot that I also added a medium sized finely diced round onion. The mushroom soup is cream of mushroom. Actually, any kind of cream soup is okay. It sticks on the bread. The idea of adding the cooked rice/stuffing mix is so that the meat does not stick together too tight. If so, it becomes like a steak. I frequently add more rice.

    Thank you Soccerfreaks on the recommendation of the potato soup. I especially like the idea of dicing lettuce and tomato and making several days worth. I will definitely do that.

    Another cooking hint is when I eat spaghetti with meat sauce. I really do not need the meat because it too is sometimes hard to swallow, but I do use it. I also combine pork/beef and mash it to prevent lumping. For the noodles, I buy the thinnest possible. I most likely will substitute and use that Japanese noodle call SOMEN. I learned from a cooking recommendation that adding oil when boiling does not really keep the noodles from sticking. What is needed is more water. I also overcook the noodles.

    Oil coated noodles will prevent the sauce from sticking to the noodles. The rinsing of noodles after boiling will wash away the important starch from the outer layer. The starch layer is needed to allow the sauce to stick to the noodles. We need all the help possible so we can swallow.

    Bear in mind that I definitely am not a cook. I am trying to learn how to prepare things that I can eat. Incidentally, I too cannot chew gum. I removed some teeth and have a partial. The gum sticks to the partials.

    Yum meatloaf! :)
    I don't like spaghetti much any more, I think it tastes a bit too acidy. I do like pesto sauce on my noodles though and chinese noodles (chow mein).

    Now I'm going to have to get a late night snack! :)
  • sassyque
    sassyque Member Posts: 44
    #6
    I am going to have to try all of these suggestions and I can't chew gum either and that really bothers me.The oncologist told me if I could chew the gum it would help with the saliva so I tried it.It does help with the saliva but very hard for me to chew it like I used to.All of you have been so helpful to me.Stay well and keep in touch....Sassyque
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #7
    sassyque said:

    I am going to have to try all of these suggestions and I can't chew gum either and that really bothers me.The oncologist told me if I could chew the gum it would help with the saliva so I tried it.It does help with the saliva but very hard for me to chew it like I used to.All of you have been so helpful to me.Stay well and keep in touch....Sassyque

    I do Tic Tacs instead of gum and they are great for generating saliva, I have found. Yes, they contain sugar, as others have pointed out, but they ARE really good for mouth moisture and generally not a peril if swallowed.
  • sassyque
    sassyque Member Posts: 44
    #8
    soccerfreaks said:

    I do Tic Tacs instead of gum and they are great for generating saliva, I have found. Yes, they contain sugar, as others have pointed out, but they ARE really good for mouth moisture and generally not a peril if swallowed.

    good idea on the tic tacs.I've tried those to and they do work
  • coco2003
    coco2003 Member Posts: 9
    #9
    Fortunately I was given Amiphostine prior to each of my 38 radiation treatments I received and indeed it did protected my salivary glands, right more than left. I have been on remission for 14 months and I don't drink so much water as I did after treatment. I am able to eat steaks, pasta, chicken (thigh aand drumsticks), rice, crackers and bread with some difficulty but it definitely is improving. It was recommended by both of my oncologists to have Amiphostine but they really did not guaranteed anything and I decided to go with it. After reading many messages on this site and others I consider myself a fortunate survivor. Not even a PEG tube was needed. Had a stage 4 left tonsill CA which did not required surgery. I recommend the use of Amiphostine for those who are about to start radiation. It has sme nasty effects but at the end is worthy.

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