Diet Issues

nursesheri
nursesheri Member Posts: 50
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
First I want to thank everyone for their warm welcome and words of encouragement. I was kinda feeling like I was the only one. Friends and family are great, but they can't understand what it's like scheduling your life around diet and bath room breaks, much less chemo effects.

This brings me to the question of diet. I thought I had it all figured out. Then We went to the county fair and got some kettle corn, which I love. I thought it would add some bulk to my diet and maybe "thicken things up". Boy am I paying for it today. Turns out, all it does, is make the diarrhea more painful to pass. Tough lesson learned.

If anyone has any diet tips; foods to avoid, foods that help, please pass them along. I would really appreciate it. If there are any tips for a sore bottom, other than Desitin, would appreciate those too.

Sheri

Comments

  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    diet is the key
    Nana b and dianevieg are the resident nutritionists. Hope they don't kill me for saying that but they really helped me with my mom. For this you may want to do research on line and print out the list and consult with oncologist, but when my mom had surgery we kept it bland. Chicken and fish, baked yams, and the hospital gave her lots of canned no salt green beans. With chemo we are trying the same with clear chick soups withdiff herbs and veggies in each so we ended up with 4 variations of chic soup. Lots of dark fruits and veggies are good or chemo and after the surgery. Seed and some types of nuts are good for chemo but not right after surgery. I tell my mom we need to eat the food in the purest cooking form
    A couple of days before chemo and a couple of days after chemo, as she is still early in her treatment and we are trying to avoid nausea. She gets chemo every other week and during that week she seems to be more flexible with salads and little more spice. Pork and red meat should be avoided. Any article you read on how to deal with cancer treatment and avoid red meat and pork. Red meat is hard on the colon and blood rich meat seems to feed tumors, according to our research. Speaking of diet I read on a previous post make sure you exercise when you can but check with doc first. Cancer does not grow well in an oxygenated body.
    Hope this helps!
  • daydreamer110761
    daydreamer110761 Member Posts: 487 Member
    ketziah35 said:

    diet is the key
    Nana b and dianevieg are the resident nutritionists. Hope they don't kill me for saying that but they really helped me with my mom. For this you may want to do research on line and print out the list and consult with oncologist, but when my mom had surgery we kept it bland. Chicken and fish, baked yams, and the hospital gave her lots of canned no salt green beans. With chemo we are trying the same with clear chick soups withdiff herbs and veggies in each so we ended up with 4 variations of chic soup. Lots of dark fruits and veggies are good or chemo and after the surgery. Seed and some types of nuts are good for chemo but not right after surgery. I tell my mom we need to eat the food in the purest cooking form
    A couple of days before chemo and a couple of days after chemo, as she is still early in her treatment and we are trying to avoid nausea. She gets chemo every other week and during that week she seems to be more flexible with salads and little more spice. Pork and red meat should be avoided. Any article you read on how to deal with cancer treatment and avoid red meat and pork. Red meat is hard on the colon and blood rich meat seems to feed tumors, according to our research. Speaking of diet I read on a previous post make sure you exercise when you can but check with doc first. Cancer does not grow well in an oxygenated body.
    Hope this helps!

    mmm..kettle corn....
    One of my favorites...and I still indulge every now and again, although I know I will pay for it for a few days to come...also, regular corn has bad effects for me. Ketziah is right - NanaB and Diane are good about the diet thing. I seem to live and learn the hard way.

    directly after surgery it was mostly soft foods for a bit. during chemo, it was chocolate or anything that I could taste (chemo makes everything taste like cardboard and no matter how much salt or spice it still tastes like cardboard). Now, I have to watch out for certain things, but tend to lean towards fruits and veggies and fish.
  • christinecarl
    christinecarl Member Posts: 543 Member
    soft foods
    I stuck to soft foods for awhile. I went through chemo during the winter, so I had lots of soups. But after awhile through chemo, you will not taste food as well (at least I could not) so there was no point in spending a lot of money on expensive items, since I could not appreciate their flavor. I kind of liked spicy foods then, but I guess it all depends on what your stomach can handle. I drank a lot of ginger tea or ale also.
  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    !
    I meant that during my mom's off week of chemo that she is more flexible in her diet. Also, as people post things that could help my mom, I copy and paste them in a word document. I mail them to my mom and she goes over them with her doctors. I have some tips that Nana b and Diane sent me. I could PM them to you if you like. Additionally, my mom's nurse told her to limit the bottled water because it has salt in it and to do soft protein snacks. She has been eating a lot of yogurt and we keep hardboiled eggs in the fridge. She will eat the whites and chuck the yolks. Proten makes the body heal faster.

    Love and blessings!

    -Ketz
  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    Correction
    I meant that during my mom's off week of chemo that she is more flexible in her diet. Also, as people post things that could help my mom, I copy and paste them in a word document. I mail them to my mom and she goes over them with her doctors. I have some tips that Nana b and Diane sent me. I could PM them to you if you like. Additionally, my mom's nurse told her to limit the bottled water because it has salt in it and to do soft protein snacks. She has been eating a lot of yogurt and we keep hardboiled eggs in the fridge. She will eat the whites and chuck the yolks. Proten makes the body heal faster.

    Love and blessings!

    -Ketz
  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    Correction
    I meant that during my mom's off week of chemo that she is more flexible in her diet. Also, as people post things that could help my mom, I copy and paste them in a word document. I mail them to my mom and she goes over them with her doctors. I have some tips that Nana b and Diane sent me. I could PM them to you if you like. Additionally, my mom's nurse told her to limit the bottled water because it has salt in it and to do soft protein snacks. She has been eating a lot of yogurt and we keep hardboiled eggs in the fridge. She will eat the whites and chuck the yolks. Proten makes the body heal faster.

    Love and blessings!

    -Ketz
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    Hey Sheri! Sorry I missed your first post...
    But, a belated welcome to the semi-colons!!!

    Yes, sadly, popcorn is on my 'No, no, NEVER again!!!' list...even my surgeon said "It will be like eating ground glass"....

    The day before chemo, I fixed a big bowl of scalloped potatoes. Slipped them into the fridge. Chemo made me so sick that I couldn't even stand to SMELL food cooking! So, I would take a bit out of the fridge and nuke it...

    Water, water, water...day before, day of, day after...I drank 4 quarts on each of these days...helped hydrate, and also flush the chemo from where it didn't need to be: bladder, kidneys, etc....

    As far as the sore bottom, I kept it as dry as possible. Even used cornstarch after drying it with a hairdryer after a shower. Also switched from toilet paper to the flushable kids' diaper wipes. They were soft a moist, instead of dry. I also used (still do on days I need it) A and D ointment. Never together with the cornstarch, but alternated. I also kept my panties off (sorry, guys) as much as possible...to air out the area....

    Hugs, Kathi
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    No POPCORN!!! I learned
    No POPCORN!!! I learned that the hard way after the theater one Sunday. Never again.
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    After suffering from my
    After suffering from my popcorn indiscretion I looked in the chemo booklet they gave me, and yes, popcorn is a no no. Hard on the intestine, so not recommended to eat.
    Other then that, I keep mostly to my regular diet, red meat (yes I love the steaks and hamburgers), although I do eat more fruit then usual, have a craving for it.
  • atrue
    atrue Member Posts: 29
    perfect cure
    i have had the sore bottom too and it brought me to tears..i found that A&D ointment works wonders..put it in the fridge let it get cold and it feels better..hope this helps..prayers and best wishes
  • KathiM
    KathiM Member Posts: 8,028 Member
    KathiM said:

    Hey Sheri! Sorry I missed your first post...
    But, a belated welcome to the semi-colons!!!

    Yes, sadly, popcorn is on my 'No, no, NEVER again!!!' list...even my surgeon said "It will be like eating ground glass"....

    The day before chemo, I fixed a big bowl of scalloped potatoes. Slipped them into the fridge. Chemo made me so sick that I couldn't even stand to SMELL food cooking! So, I would take a bit out of the fridge and nuke it...

    Water, water, water...day before, day of, day after...I drank 4 quarts on each of these days...helped hydrate, and also flush the chemo from where it didn't need to be: bladder, kidneys, etc....

    As far as the sore bottom, I kept it as dry as possible. Even used cornstarch after drying it with a hairdryer after a shower. Also switched from toilet paper to the flushable kids' diaper wipes. They were soft a moist, instead of dry. I also used (still do on days I need it) A and D ointment. Never together with the cornstarch, but alternated. I also kept my panties off (sorry, guys) as much as possible...to air out the area....

    Hugs, Kathi

    If you REALLY need popcorn....
    2 things I found don't do too much to hurt...

    The first is popcorn flavored jelly bellys....

    The second, in SMALL amounts, is hull-less popcorn. It is much more expensive, and rather hard to find, but I tried it, maybe about a handful, and it didn't seem to have the same effect as regular 'movie style' popcorn...

    Hugs, Kathi
  • herdizziness
    herdizziness Member Posts: 3,624 Member
    KathiM said:

    Hey Sheri! Sorry I missed your first post...
    But, a belated welcome to the semi-colons!!!

    Yes, sadly, popcorn is on my 'No, no, NEVER again!!!' list...even my surgeon said "It will be like eating ground glass"....

    The day before chemo, I fixed a big bowl of scalloped potatoes. Slipped them into the fridge. Chemo made me so sick that I couldn't even stand to SMELL food cooking! So, I would take a bit out of the fridge and nuke it...

    Water, water, water...day before, day of, day after...I drank 4 quarts on each of these days...helped hydrate, and also flush the chemo from where it didn't need to be: bladder, kidneys, etc....

    As far as the sore bottom, I kept it as dry as possible. Even used cornstarch after drying it with a hairdryer after a shower. Also switched from toilet paper to the flushable kids' diaper wipes. They were soft a moist, instead of dry. I also used (still do on days I need it) A and D ointment. Never together with the cornstarch, but alternated. I also kept my panties off (sorry, guys) as much as possible...to air out the area....

    Hugs, Kathi

    Concerning Flushable kids diaper wipes
    Kleenex has a Cottonelle brand wipe for grown ups,(same as for babies I'm sure) has aloe that is flushable. Also on that note, I discovered via having a new born grandson, that they make a "wipe" warmer. If you get the nueropathy problem with the fingers when touching cold, the warmer makes it easier to use them.
  • jararno
    jararno Member Posts: 186
    Diet
    I haven't tried popcorn...I think I will avoid that pain!! I have been living on Turkey and mashed potatoes for the last 7 months! Actually probably a bad idea since I will probably never want to eat a Thanksgiving Dinner again!

    The BRAT diet has been the best for me with an occasional steak thrown in when I have good days! Pizza and any tomato based foods have become very unappealing to me! ( I blame it on my blood transfusion....seriously the sound of spagetti/pizza/italian food was just gross after the transfusion....Maybe the person I got the blood from doesn't like Italian Food??? )

    Cold stuff is also "out" for me as it feels like glass in my mouth! I ocassionally forget and sip ice water....Wow! Electric Shock!!!!

    The gas and "trots" are the pits! I sometimes don't want to eat because of the whole trots thing! My Sancuso and Emend can cause severe constipation which I swear is like trying to lay turtle eggs!!! I prefer the trots! ( Thought I'd never say that!!!!!!! )

    I guess I eat whatever sounds good at the time....sometimes I just can't eat! I am very bad at hydrating also.....but drink!!! ( not alcohol !!! )

    Maybe some Comfort Foods!

  • jararno said:

    Diet
    I haven't tried popcorn...I think I will avoid that pain!! I have been living on Turkey and mashed potatoes for the last 7 months! Actually probably a bad idea since I will probably never want to eat a Thanksgiving Dinner again!

    The BRAT diet has been the best for me with an occasional steak thrown in when I have good days! Pizza and any tomato based foods have become very unappealing to me! ( I blame it on my blood transfusion....seriously the sound of spagetti/pizza/italian food was just gross after the transfusion....Maybe the person I got the blood from doesn't like Italian Food??? )

    Cold stuff is also "out" for me as it feels like glass in my mouth! I ocassionally forget and sip ice water....Wow! Electric Shock!!!!

    The gas and "trots" are the pits! I sometimes don't want to eat because of the whole trots thing! My Sancuso and Emend can cause severe constipation which I swear is like trying to lay turtle eggs!!! I prefer the trots! ( Thought I'd never say that!!!!!!! )

    I guess I eat whatever sounds good at the time....sometimes I just can't eat! I am very bad at hydrating also.....but drink!!! ( not alcohol !!! )

    Maybe some Comfort Foods!

    Take Care, Barb --<@&lt;/p>

    This comment has been removed by the Moderator
  • ketziah35
    ketziah35 Member Posts: 1,145
    found something for you
    Nana b posted some diet information under the following title
    "Thought i would post this alone from another response - just fyi" it was a post in July.
  • RickMurtagh
    RickMurtagh Member Posts: 587 Member
    Fiber
    Fiber is such an odd thing. Take it with a few ounces of water and it is a great bulk former, too much water and it can be diarrhetic. I eat Metamucil wafers like candy, all day long. Start small and work up to more.

    For the butt, Calmoseptine for regular duty and Destine maximum strength (40% zinc oxide) stays put when things get pretty messy. Balneol is expensive but great for cleaning the toosh, even after using moist wipes (I use ones made from bamboo - I think some times I get splinters).

    Diet has been so hit or miss with me the last month, I have nothing much to add, but if diarrhea is constant ask for tincture of opium. Tastes horrible, works great. It just helped me break a month long cycle of constant diarrhea. It is a class II narcotic and can take a while to get. Paragoric, Camphorated Tincture of Opium is not as strong but works pretty well too - also a Class II narcotic.