Supplements to strengthen immunity?

info. on suppliments during chemo
I searched and read alot about taking supplements or vit. during chemo from very reputable doctors and I deceided against it. They can interfere with your chemo and your blood counts. I have always eaten well and healthy so I just continue that practice. My appetite has not been effected during the two chemo's I have had so far. I have 2 more chemo's remaining. I also bought the book Chemo therepy for dummies at the book store and they don't endorse supplements either. Chemo nurse took blood before therapy this past week and wbc, rbc and platlets actually went up, so that is very good. I believe having homemade lentil soup everyday, cream of wheat farina for breakfast everyday and steak once a week and fish and chicken (all high in iron) and of course veggies, fruit, nuts, yogart has helped.
I'm sure others may be doing well on supplements. I would also like to hear if others are taking suppliments and what brand? I pondered over this decision also for awhile before starting treatment.
Please check msnbc. I think the video from a doctor on there was convincing to me.
Good Luck to your sister.
Annette

My onc didn't want me taking
My onc didn't want me taking multivitamins. Everything needs to be ok'd by onc. You need to be careful that anything doesn't interfere with chemo.

shy violet said:

That would be true for
That would be true for smoothies too, I used to like Jamba Juice smoothies but during chemo I could not have any supplements or boosts...only the fruit stuff...

I agree with the previous posts in that you should
always check with your doctor. My onc. said "No supplements with antioxidants because they interfere with the chemo" So, I cut those out. Also, she would not let me eat ANY fresh uncooked fruit or veggies without a peel because she felt that if I was unlucky enough to contract E.Coli or Salmonella (which can't be washed off) it would be really dangerous. For me, that was the worst because I love salad. She actually said lettuce was one of the worst offenders as far as E.Coli is concerned as well as any type of berries. So, I limited myself to bananas and oranges (which I washed first and then peeled).

If you have faith and trust in your doctors, follow their advice.

Hugs, Renee

carriesoup said:

Rague
what in antioxidants are bad? my onc approved all my other vitamins. i just bought acai supplements (i used to take them regularly, but stopped) that i started taking this week. eek! i won't take them anymore if it's not good for me. just wondering why? i am also on A/C right now. then 12 treatments of taxol.

thanks

carrie

I work for surgeons at one
I work for surgeons at one hospital and get my chemo and rad at MD Anderson (a different place). Both places told me that antioxidents stop the chemo from binding with the cells chemo is meant to kill. So, antioxidents if you are healthy are good because they keep the radicals from binding, but when you get cancer, you need to let the cells bind so the cancer can kill them. I'm not wording this exactly right, but my drs all said this is not the time to do anything but eat a normal healthy diet, do not add supplements. I was going to eat a lot of antioxident filled food and they said, just eat normal healthy meals.

Rague said:

The way it was explained to
The way it was explained to me - very simplistically - is that anti-oxidants attack and go after 'nasty stuff' in our body. The chemo is 'nasty stuff' that is being put in our body for a reason - to kill the cancer - so anti-oxidants will interfere with the chemo doing it's job.

Of course - do whatever your Dr. tells you - there are different opinions among Drs. That's what my Dr. (and the nurse who did my Education before chemo started) told me.

I hope Taxol is nicer to you than it was to me. The 4 A/C weren't bad but the 12 Taxol were.

Susan

Rague #2
well, that does make sense. that was dumb of me, starting another supplement. luckily it was my off week. next treatment of A/C is tomorrow. so far the A/C hasn't been that bad. uh oh! i hope the taxol isn't terrible. uggg. well, everyone is different, we never know how our bodies will respond. gotta keep positive

thanks for your information, i appreciate it!

carrie

Green tea!
I drink green tea also in the morning! Is this OK? I'm sure others are drinking it too??
Annette

Heatherbelle said:

hmm I wonder about drinking
hmm I wonder about drinking green tea, as that is a good source of anti-oxidants...anyone have any info on that? My morning cup (ok 2...) of coffee was upsetting my stomach so I switched to tea in the morning, and i usually have a cup or 2 of it throughout the day. I've also been taking my multivitamins throughout my chemo....i'll stop now because i still have 1 more chemo left but now i'm worried i've done something wrong this whole time...ooh there goes my paranoid mind wandering again now!!
*hugs*
Heather

I take multivitamins and my
I take multivitamins and my onc didn't have a problem with it, but he didn't want me doing a bunch of other supplements and as I mentioned in an earlier posts, didn't want me trying to purposely eat a lot of antioxident loaded food. He didn't ask to see the vitamins, so now i'm a little worried too. lol if only we could channel our worries into energy. Lots of things have antioxidents, so if you drank green tea, but didn't eat a bunch of berries, maybe it all evens out. Just lay off the green tea until you ask your dr., but try,, and i can't believe i'm saying this, try not to worry. I hate when people tell me not to worry.

Rague said:

The way it was explained to
The way it was explained to me - very simplistically - is that anti-oxidants attack and go after 'nasty stuff' in our body. The chemo is 'nasty stuff' that is being put in our body for a reason - to kill the cancer - so anti-oxidants will interfere with the chemo doing it's job.

Of course - do whatever your Dr. tells you - there are different opinions among Drs. That's what my Dr. (and the nurse who did my Education before chemo started) told me.

I hope Taxol is nicer to you than it was to me. The 4 A/C weren't bad but the 12 Taxol were.

Susan

I had the same question..!
My oncologist also explained very simplistically, the effect of anti-oxidants in chemo and suggested not over-consume them. He told me just to keep balanced diet. I do take a cup of green tea since all this started, but that is to avoid taking coffee. I understand that in general we should avoid caffeine, so if you drink green tea, make sure it is decaf.

One supplement I took during chemo was Milk Thistle. My oncologist didn’t prevent me from taking them, but he didn’t believe there were any benefits from it either. This supplement promotes healthy liver function, so I thought it would be a good help for liver during chemo. This supplement is also known to help reduce hot flushes, which we can also get from some chemos. There are no scientific studies proving the benefits for taking this, so it is only a matter of having faith..! Remember that this is a relatively cheap supplement (not profitable for pharmaceuticals) and therefore not officially promoted, so as long as there is no proof of it beeing bad, I am up for it!