Coffee

Greg53
Greg53 Member Posts: 849
edited March 2014 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
I just read an article that indicated that people who drank 4 cups of coffee a day were 39% less likely to get H&N cancers. I easily drank that much. Just curious about others out there?

My big question though is, has anyone done much research on drinking coffee post-treatment? That is the Number 1 thing I miss! I just started eating and hot isn't good yet. Just wondering of those out at least 6 months, have you started drinking coffee again and how much?

Positive thoughts coming everyone's way!
Greg
«1

Comments

  • Lena Rose
    Lena Rose Member Posts: 73
    #2
    Hi Greg,
    My husband is 2
    Hi Greg,
    My husband is 2 weeks post treatment and just started drinking iced coffee (only 1 cup if he can get it down). It's refreshing, especially since it's been 90+ degrees all week. I added some sugar free chocolate syrup to it today for added calories.
  • CajunEagle
    CajunEagle Member Posts: 408
    #3
    Coffee
    Greg, I'm a year away from treatment and I still can't drink coffee. Good gosh, I used to walk around all day long for at least 15 years with a huge container of coffee in my hand, and now one sip of plain ole coffee with chicory makes me just cough and basically aspirate. The funny part is that I can drink hot green tea with no problems, but I really don't care for it that much and miss my coffee. I've thought about giving the iced coffee thing a try. Always fun to experiment. Must be something weird about us tonsil gangsters.

    Larry
  • MarineE5
    MarineE5 Member Posts: 1,034 Member
    #4
    Greg,

    I'm a coffee nut. I must drink at least a pot a day. I sip it mostly, I allow it to cool to near room temperature before even thinking about sipping it. If I am in a hurry, I put some ice cubes in to cool it down. I too read that article that mentions what you posted. I do drink the Half Caff stuff so I don't bounce off the walls : )

    My Best to You and Everyone Here
  • debbiejeanne
    debbiejeanne Member Posts: 3,102 Member
    #5
    Greg, I'm with you. I was
    Greg, I'm with you. I was never without a cup of coffee. I probably drank 2 pots a day, easy. I also miss it a lot as I can not drink it b/c of the taste. It has an awful taste ever since I had started treatments back in Sept. 09. I'm 8 months post trmnts (35 radiation) and still can't drink it. I try to about once a month just hoping my tastebuds are back but no luck. So, I had the H&N, voicebox cancer in spite of drinking A LOT of coffee.
    God Bless you,
    debbie
  • Glenna M
    Glenna M Member Posts: 1,576
    #6
    Hi Greg,

    I read the same article and had to laugh ;-) Prior to being diagnosed with cancer I always had a cup of coffee in my hand but didn't touch the stuff until I was about 2 months post treatment. I am now 9 months post treatment. I started to get back into my old habit until I read that you need to drink another 8 ounces of water for every cup of coffee you drink. I'm already drinking at least 64 ounces and spend half of my time in the bathroom ;-0 so I figured I had better cut back on the coffee again or I would float away.

    I'm not a doctor or scientist but I am really skeptical about this study as I not only developed non small cell lung cancer but found out 2 weeks after diagnosis that I also had SCC laryngeal cancer. Guess all that coffee didn't help me too much - LOL

    Take care,
    Glenna
  • dennis318
    dennis318 Member Posts: 349 Member
    #7
    Glenna M said:

    Hi Greg,

    I read the same article and had to laugh ;-) Prior to being diagnosed with cancer I always had a cup of coffee in my hand but didn't touch the stuff until I was about 2 months post treatment. I am now 9 months post treatment. I started to get back into my old habit until I read that you need to drink another 8 ounces of water for every cup of coffee you drink. I'm already drinking at least 64 ounces and spend half of my time in the bathroom ;-0 so I figured I had better cut back on the coffee again or I would float away.

    I'm not a doctor or scientist but I am really skeptical about this study as I not only developed non small cell lung cancer but found out 2 weeks after diagnosis that I also had SCC laryngeal cancer. Guess all that coffee didn't help me too much - LOL

    Take care,
    Glenna

    My other best friend to leave
    i would have a cup of coffee 24 hour 7 in my hand, guess what, i haven't drank coffee, since Decembe of last year, dark roasted Mr.s Folger and half and half, god i miss her, it taste terrible...Dennis
  • rozaroo
    rozaroo Member Posts: 665
    #8
    dennis318 said:

    My other best friend to leave
    i would have a cup of coffee 24 hour 7 in my hand, guess what, i haven't drank coffee, since Decembe of last year, dark roasted Mr.s Folger and half and half, god i miss her, it taste terrible...Dennis

    Coffee!
    Had my first cup of coffee last week since January! Tasted so bad back then. Now I have my taste for it back & my ulcer started up again. So no more coffee for awhile.
  • Landranger25
    Landranger25 Member Posts: 210 Member
    #9
    rozaroo said:

    Coffee!
    Had my first cup of coffee last week since January! Tasted so bad back then. Now I have my taste for it back & my ulcer started up again. So no more coffee for awhile.

    One cup
    I started drinking coffee when I was in the military. Probably 19 years old at the time. While pulling guard duty they would bring you out something to eat and all they would have to drink was mermite container of coffee. I have pretty well stuck with just one cup in the morning and then switch to water the rest of the day. I was able to drink through my treatment but just sipped water and sports drinks. The first week after the last rad I had a luke warm cup of coffee and it was one of those just a few things that tasted like it was supposed to. I think it gave me back a sense of some normalcy. Back to my cup every morning now.

    Mike
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #10
    Another Coffee Drinker
    LOL, not sure who did that research, but as all of you have mentioned, I was also (still am) a big coffee drinker.

    It took a good nine plus months before I started drinking coffee again. Like all of you, it tasted really nasty for that time, but it's all good again.

    For me though, I have always drank it strong and black with no sweetners. Anything sweet leaves my mouth sticky anymore, so I just eliminate most of that.

    I do love the Starbucks Venti Triple Latte's though. It has an extra shot of expresso....

    Anyways, just throwing that out there...

    As far as consuming caffiene after treatment, I'm not really sure of any actual facts. I'm sure as with almost anyhing you consume, there is something out there that warns against....

    JG
  • thegirlfriend
    thegirlfriend Member Posts: 142
    #11
    yeah i read it
    and i also heard it on the news. I thought it was interesting.
  • Scambuster
    Scambuster Member Posts: 973
    #12
    Good or Bad ??
    Hi Guys,

    The bad side for we CSN people is Coffee is very Acidic - and as we should be aiming for an alkaline environment in our bodies, it is bad. It also affects your sleep and most of us struggle to get good sleep. The other negative sides are it promotes dehydration and as we all know it is addictive, and can transport nasty chemicals into us from the pesticides etc.

    On the good fronts, it can have an anti-oxidant affect. I would NOT however say its a form of medication or supplement and hence 'Wow, it's good for me....drink it up !" is not the way to go.

    I think the article is a bit biased toward the coffee sellers. My view is that coffee overall not great for us but a few cups a week without milk is OK and preferably organic. I admit to a weekly coffee but since I got into the Vego diet I don't crave coffee at all, so my weekly cuppa Joe is a pure indulgence, not a habit. Obviously, if you do indulge, best time is in the morning.

    Scam
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #13
    Scambuster said:

    Good or Bad ??
    Hi Guys,

    The bad side for we CSN people is Coffee is very Acidic - and as we should be aiming for an alkaline environment in our bodies, it is bad. It also affects your sleep and most of us struggle to get good sleep. The other negative sides are it promotes dehydration and as we all know it is addictive, and can transport nasty chemicals into us from the pesticides etc.

    On the good fronts, it can have an anti-oxidant affect. I would NOT however say its a form of medication or supplement and hence 'Wow, it's good for me....drink it up !" is not the way to go.

    I think the article is a bit biased toward the coffee sellers. My view is that coffee overall not great for us but a few cups a week without milk is OK and preferably organic. I admit to a weekly coffee but since I got into the Vego diet I don't crave coffee at all, so my weekly cuppa Joe is a pure indulgence, not a habit. Obviously, if you do indulge, best time is in the morning.

    Scam

    Coffee, Ensure and Jello..my
    Coffee, Ensure and Jello..my current diet.
    Hoping to branch out back into more healthful eating, but for right now sticking with
    whatever goes down easily...
  • micktissue
    micktissue Member Posts: 430
    #14
    coffee
    For years I was AT LEAST a 4 cups a day coffee drinker. I didn't smoke. I had about a beer a month (if that much). I was overweight a bit (I look great now, BTW, at 157 when before I was at 195). I am told they found evidence of HPV in the stuff they took.

    It just goes to show you there are no guarantees. Thanks for posting this thread Greg.

    Best,

    Mick
  • greg from pa
    greg from pa Member Posts: 86
    #15
    coffee
    I used to drink it all morning.Now even the smell turns my stomach. maybe someday . Greg
  • Hal61
    Hal61 Member Posts: 655
    #16
    I'm a fluke
    Hi Greg, this thread gave me a needed laugh. I guess I'm the exception on this one--though I know Scam is right and I need to keep his post in mind. I'm about 3 and one half months out of treatment (headed for lymph gland removal)and Coffee is the single thing that has kept it's taste for me, exactly, since about one month out of treatment. Still most foods and drinks are just coming around, but coffee has tasted like coffee for me throughout. I wasn't a big drinker, one to two cups at most per day, but it has been the lone exception to the taste challenge. Like the mantra goes, everyone is different. Of course I would trade my coffee taste buds for a little break from the tinnitus--ha--so you just never know which end of the stick you get is going to taste good, and which is going to poke you in the eye.

    here's hoping we all come out on the long end,
    best Hal
  • staceya
    staceya Member Posts: 720
    #17
    greg from pa said:

    coffee
    I used to drink it all morning.Now even the smell turns my stomach. maybe someday . Greg

    The coffee drinks from MCD
    The coffee drinks from MCD are delish!!
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #18
    Back on Coffee
    I drank two cups a day of decaf (switched to decaf months before cancer was detected) a day at work before dx (guess I shoulda been more greedy, and doubled the intake, huh?). Chemo made me sensitive to the smell, and I couldn't even consider drinking during treatment. It quickly faded, and after treatment, the taste usually seemed right starting with maybe the second or third time I tried it. Hot is out of the question (burns, and we're supposed to not drink very hot bevvies, increases the risk of cancer, doncha know). Warm coffee in restaurants seems to make my mouth and throat feel good - I think it helps me eat more. About one in five times, the coffee in restaurants tastes terrible - dunno if it's the brand, or some ingredient that I can't handle yet. I've done no research. I, too, drink only decaf - caffeine hinders your body's ability to absorb and use water. I also drink it black now, unless it's too much.
  • davidgskinner
    davidgskinner Member Posts: 81
    #19
    Pam M said:

    Back on Coffee
    I drank two cups a day of decaf (switched to decaf months before cancer was detected) a day at work before dx (guess I shoulda been more greedy, and doubled the intake, huh?). Chemo made me sensitive to the smell, and I couldn't even consider drinking during treatment. It quickly faded, and after treatment, the taste usually seemed right starting with maybe the second or third time I tried it. Hot is out of the question (burns, and we're supposed to not drink very hot bevvies, increases the risk of cancer, doncha know). Warm coffee in restaurants seems to make my mouth and throat feel good - I think it helps me eat more. About one in five times, the coffee in restaurants tastes terrible - dunno if it's the brand, or some ingredient that I can't handle yet. I've done no research. I, too, drink only decaf - caffeine hinders your body's ability to absorb and use water. I also drink it black now, unless it's too much.

    Love it
    for some reason I could tolerate black coffee all the way through treatment, except for maybe a week or two. I am three months out and drink about a pot a day. I used to drink caffeinated diet sodas all day long; now the bubbles burn my throat and they taste horrible. Coffee smells great and tastes good.
    I also saw that study. I have cut out just about every processed junky food and eat very well now. Lots of good stuff...but I am going to enjoy coffee whether or not that study turns out to be accurate. A gift I will give myself...
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #20
    davidgskinner said:

    Love it
    for some reason I could tolerate black coffee all the way through treatment, except for maybe a week or two. I am three months out and drink about a pot a day. I used to drink caffeinated diet sodas all day long; now the bubbles burn my throat and they taste horrible. Coffee smells great and tastes good.
    I also saw that study. I have cut out just about every processed junky food and eat very well now. Lots of good stuff...but I am going to enjoy coffee whether or not that study turns out to be accurate. A gift I will give myself...

    I'm with David - Love it
    Couldn't drink coffee during treatment, but shortly afterward it started to taste good again. I really enjoy it early in the day; it's almost a ceremony for me to make it with my little French coffee press. I drink it with milk or cream now, rather than black as I did before. As soon as the pot starts to cool, I ice down what is left and enjoy that, too. It works really well to wash down the tiny bites of sourdough toast I insist on trying to eat in the mornings. I was afraid I'd never be able to eat bread again. Life is good.

    Deb
  • Greg53
    Greg53 Member Posts: 849
    #21
    D Lewis said:

    I'm with David - Love it
    Couldn't drink coffee during treatment, but shortly afterward it started to taste good again. I really enjoy it early in the day; it's almost a ceremony for me to make it with my little French coffee press. I drink it with milk or cream now, rather than black as I did before. As soon as the pot starts to cool, I ice down what is left and enjoy that, too. It works really well to wash down the tiny bites of sourdough toast I insist on trying to eat in the mornings. I was afraid I'd never be able to eat bread again. Life is good.

    Deb

    Finally a Cup a Joe
    Well I started this thread 2 weeks ago and finally was able to drink my first cup of coffee today. It was AWESOME! It was only lukewarm and only got 1/2 cup down but that made my day! And it actually tasted like coffee.

    Greg

Discussion Boards