Shopping list for Chemotherapy

TraciInLA said:

Good for you for being prepared!
Before each chemo, I stocked my refrigerator and pantry with single-serving sizes of things that I could just grab and head back to the couch, were easy on my stomach, and -- most importantly -- gave me a little PROTEIN. I found that I felt SO much better if I got even just a little protein in me each day.

My pre-chemo shopping list was: Single-serving cottage cheeses, cheese sticks, yogurt, pudding cups, fruit cups, bananas, and juice boxes.

It's extremely important that you hydrate, hydrate, hydrate before and after chemo, so also stock up on whatever beverages you like. The night before each chemo, I always made an enormous pitcher of my favorite homemade fruity iced tea, as a treat for myself.

Hope that helps!

Traci

I made sure I had plenty of
I made sure I had plenty of ginger ale, because I had a hard time drinking water. Crackers, vanilla waffers, cottage fries, pudding, jello. Buy whatever you like to eat when your not feeling your best. That's pretty much what you will eat while doing your first few rounds of chemo. Good luck

Everyone is so different
For me, I couldn't eat anything sweet--so puddings, yogurt, etc. were out. They tasted really awful to me. The only things I could handle for a few days were: Cheerios with nonfat milk and peanut butter on white bread with a glass of milk. Don't ask me why--these were never really things I ate much of usually. I forced water and iced tea, but truthfully, for a few days to a week after chemo, everything I put into my mouth tasted like metal.

I hope you're taste buds are kinder to you--with some of us it's a trial and error thing. I can't tell you how many food items I took one bite of and spit out!

Good luck--and remember--it's very temporary.

Hugs, Renee

missrenee said:

Everyone is so different
For me, I couldn't eat anything sweet--so puddings, yogurt, etc. were out. They tasted really awful to me. The only things I could handle for a few days were: Cheerios with nonfat milk and peanut butter on white bread with a glass of milk. Don't ask me why--these were never really things I ate much of usually. I forced water and iced tea, but truthfully, for a few days to a week after chemo, everything I put into my mouth tasted like metal.

I hope you're taste buds are kinder to you--with some of us it's a trial and error thing. I can't tell you how many food items I took one bite of and spit out!

Good luck--and remember--it's very temporary.

Hugs, Renee

hmmm...
I remember it like it was Friday March 5th...I was as anxious as a kid waiting for Christmas...

I stalked up on small bottles of water, the glass bottles of Canada Dry ginger ale, I could sip this when I felt the slightest bit of nausea and re-close the bottles.
Also, a local store Trader Joe's, carries a triple ginger cookie these I nibbled too if I was also feeling queasy.
Rice Chex with non fat milk was my staple for the "take this medication with food" for the days when I had to follow chemo with anti-nausea medication.

Proteins, Traci brings up a good point. I made sure I had at least one palm size serving of protein each day. Hardboiled eggs in the fridge were easy for me the week after my chemos. Peanut butter and cheese too.

Treatment days: Depending upon the length of your treatments and your chemo center...you might want to pack a lunch. I did. Sandwich, water, some fruit. Check with nurses. My center served

Days between treatments: I found that sweets, and I do love them, were something I needed to avoid. My chemo could cause mouth sores and the sweets would aggravate them. *sniff* I cut them out.

I was told that I would likely put on 15 lbs, I did not. My best advice is eat would you would eat regularly. Be sensible...but be gracious with yourself. Eat what you feel like eating and when you feel like eating.

Hope this helps!
I ended up having the same foods around me that I did when I was queasy and pregnant. I always had a baggie of small amounts of protein (cheese or peanut butter), pieces of apple or other fruits easy on the stomach, and crackers. I had to eat 5-6 small meals a day instead of big meals. POtato soup was another favorite. Ginger ale or carbonated beverages also helped me. Basically, whatever YOU tolerate eating is what I would keep around.

All of my friends kept giving me Milky Ways (because I used to have a weakness for them), but I wasn't interested in them on chemo.

Besides food, a good lip balm is handy to carry around--my lips always felt dry.

An old fashioned ice bag can help with nausea and just feeling yucky. If you don't have one, you might invest in one as they don't cost much and last longer than a bag of frozen peas.

I also liked mindless magazines or a page turner novel to keep my mind occupied.

If you do have side effects such as nausea, ask for help--there are good drugs that can help.

Hang in there and let us know how you do! Good luck!

chemo list
I was scheduled for chemo, which didn't end up happening, but during that time when I was waiting for chemo to start, I did a lot of reading on things that might help during chemo.

Maybe those of you who have had chemo can say if these things might have helped you - spearmint gum or mints . . . and things with ginger in them (I see some have already mentioned ginger cookies). I know that they keep mints around the cancer center where I go, so I'm thinking they must help.

I anticipated spending hours in the bathroom feeling sick . . . and I know that is just not how everyone reacts to chemo - I have no idea how sick I would have felt. But, someone listed a "big dog bed" as a good thing to have to lay on if you're spending a lot of time in the bathroom . . . thought that was a good idea.

Thinking of you . . .

♥ Lynn ♥

Hi
I do use a juicer. Love it. I do 4 carrots, 2 celery, 1 apple, makes 2 good servings. When I was on chemo, I had bad digestion and bathroom trouble. Sometimes had hemmorhoids and bled. So don't be alarmed if that happens. I actually thought I had colon cancer from bleeding. So don't freak out like I did. I used Tucks for hemmorhoids and that helped. From diarrhea and constipation you may get sore. Also, it turned out dairy messed me up during chemo and 3 months afterwards. And if your nose drips like a faucet don't think you're sick, its from losing your nose hairs. Good luck with chemo.

such sweet considerate men!
I plan on using plasticware because my oncologist definitely said I would get a metal taste. Bob you are great leaving Donna her food at reach:) My husband puts my plates and glasses out and that's a big help. I think the whole thing is whatever is easy.
Char

Bella Luna said:

I did much of what the other
I did much of what the other sisters did( yogurt, cottage cheese, bananas, potatoes). The other thing I did to prepare for chemo days was make a big pot of soup. If you should decide to make a soup for yourself, skip the salt, pepper, and/or Knorr's additives. Keep it bland.

Again, if you should want to, try and make soups that are easy to digest such as... lentil soup, vegetable and/or bean soups. You're taste buds are going to go out the window, things will taste different. You're appetite might decrease, mine did.

Once you get started with chemo, you'll be able to gauge what your body prefers to eat and/or drink. As Traci mentioned, it's very important to drink plenty of liquids. Best of luck to you on your journey.
BL

Hydration .. Hydration .. Hyrdation
I pretty much did what has been offered by our group above .. what I found to help with the metal taste, besides plastic ware -- was sucking on cinnamon or peppermint hard, round candies or chewing a 1/2 stick of speriment gum - not sugar free.

Also, what I could tolerate eating in weeks, 1, 2, 3 -- changed by week 4. I had to find a different set of proteins, fruits and veggies that agreed with me. Green beans were my friend, cold or cooked thru out chemo - my 1 and only food.

Best of luck to you ..

Vicki Sam

TraciInLA said:

Good for you for being prepared!
Before each chemo, I stocked my refrigerator and pantry with single-serving sizes of things that I could just grab and head back to the couch, were easy on my stomach, and -- most importantly -- gave me a little PROTEIN. I found that I felt SO much better if I got even just a little protein in me each day.

My pre-chemo shopping list was: Single-serving cottage cheeses, cheese sticks, yogurt, pudding cups, fruit cups, bananas, and juice boxes.

It's extremely important that you hydrate, hydrate, hydrate before and after chemo, so also stock up on whatever beverages you like. The night before each chemo, I always made an enormous pitcher of my favorite homemade fruity iced tea, as a treat for myself.

Hope that helps!

Traci

me
Hi T,
Do you think I will be able to drink green tea? I hope to smile big too, when this is all over with, newly diagnosed