NO fresh fruits and Veggies

Hoppy23
Hoppy23 Member Posts: 26
edited March 2014 in Lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin) #1
Hi

I am new here, my husband has been diagnosed last Feb 2010 with Follicular NHL stage 4B, grade one. It was found that lymph nodes ALL over his body were affected plus his spleen and his bone marrow as well. His oncologist immediately said he needs R-CHOP (his symptoms were severe and painful and would cripple him). He is going to have 9 cycles total. So far he has had 6 of them.

Now his oncologist is a tough aggressive person when it comes to treatments, she's a sweetie with him and me and all, but is very strict about what he should and should not do.

One of the things that she said is a BIG FAT NO is him eating fresh fruits or veggies. She said not even organic ones. He can only eat thick skinned fruits like bananas, water melon and oranges, that's it.

Is anyone else being prevented by their onc from eating them too? He's very pissed off because he loves summer fruits and is craving all sorts of things he cannot eat right now. I was only wondering why she wouldn't let him. When we asked her, she only said "they are loaded with all sorts of chemicals even the organinc ones".

Comments

  • COBRA666
    COBRA666 CSN Member Posts: 2,401 Member
    #2
    CHEMICALS
    Hoppy,I am sure the onc is correct. Can you really think of anything we eat that is not full of chemicals. I have thought of this many times. Check any canned food and read the ingrediants.If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. We'd starve to death. Its a shame our gov't lets stuff like this go on isn't it. You really become aware of this stuff when cancer hits so close to home. John
  • vinny59
    vinny59 CSN Member Posts: 1,036 Member
    #3
    no fruit
    that seems really extreme, we are surrounded by poisons everyday, I can't see fruits and vegetables making things any worse then they are. I would have to challenge her on that call..... Vinny
  • britta
    britta CSN Member Posts: 107
    #4
    vinny59 said:

    no fruit
    that seems really extreme, we are surrounded by poisons everyday, I can't see fruits and vegetables making things any worse then they are. I would have to challenge her on that call..... Vinny

    No Fruit
    I certainly don't know for sure, but I wonder if it isn't because his immune system is weakened and he won't be able to fight off the bacteria. Wash all fruits and vegetables carefully, because the bacteria can get inside when you cut them. She sounds like a caring doctor.
  • kayebadoe
    kayebadoe Member Posts: 81
    #5
    britta said:

    No Fruit
    I certainly don't know for sure, but I wonder if it isn't because his immune system is weakened and he won't be able to fight off the bacteria. Wash all fruits and vegetables carefully, because the bacteria can get inside when you cut them. She sounds like a caring doctor.

    I have been eating so much
    I have been eating so much watermelon! So glad its on the ok list. I take it and put it in the sink and scrub it with soap and water before I cut it.
  • Hoppy23
    Hoppy23 Member Posts: 26
    #6
    COBRA666 said:

    CHEMICALS
    Hoppy,I am sure the onc is correct. Can you really think of anything we eat that is not full of chemicals. I have thought of this many times. Check any canned food and read the ingrediants.If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. We'd starve to death. Its a shame our gov't lets stuff like this go on isn't it. You really become aware of this stuff when cancer hits so close to home. John

    Hello John. I know his onc
    Hello John. I know his onc is great, but sometimes she's just overly protective I think. I know she puts hubby's best interest infront of her all the time, and we trust her blindly. But with the chemo messing his tummy up, his food options are very limited sometimes and all he craves are fruits. I think I might start grilling some for him, hope he likes them. And I learned a long time ago that governments don't really care much about us, we have to watch over ourselves.
  • Hoppy23
    Hoppy23 Member Posts: 26
    #7
    vinny59 said:

    no fruit
    that seems really extreme, we are surrounded by poisons everyday, I can't see fruits and vegetables making things any worse then they are. I would have to challenge her on that call..... Vinny

    Hi Vinny. We did ask her
    Hi Vinny. We did ask her more than once, she said only thick skinned fruits are OK since the pesticides and herbicides and whatever else they are using to grow them cannot penetrate that skin. Cooking also kills the chemicals that are very high in the raw products. So we know she's right. I just haven't seen anyone else doing that except her and one other person online.
  • Hoppy23
    Hoppy23 Member Posts: 26
    #8
    britta said:

    No Fruit
    I certainly don't know for sure, but I wonder if it isn't because his immune system is weakened and he won't be able to fight off the bacteria. Wash all fruits and vegetables carefully, because the bacteria can get inside when you cut them. She sounds like a caring doctor.

    She's very caring and she
    She's very caring and she wants ALL her patients to be CURED. I remember I was crying the first time she told us about hubby's condition (I was alone, he was on a business trip), and she assured me she won't stop until he is CURED and I just loved hearing that word.

    For now, he's eating banans and water melons, and I wipe the banans very well before peeling them and wash the water melon with soap before cutting it open.

    I'm not sure if the onc is worrying about bacterial infection or about pesticides and herbicides though. Since I have read online that some link those to getting Lymphoma. Who knows !
  • Hoppy23
    Hoppy23 Member Posts: 26
    #9
    kayebadoe said:

    I have been eating so much
    I have been eating so much watermelon! So glad its on the ok list. I take it and put it in the sink and scrub it with soap and water before I cut it.

    hello Kaye. I wash it too
    hello Kaye. I wash it too before cutting it open.. I'd do anything to see my husband healthy.

    BTW - I just love your picture and your smile. It shows a very strong spirit and a good sense of humor too.
  • dixiegirl
    dixiegirl CSN Member Posts: 1,043 Member
    #10
    Hoppy23 said:

    Hi Vinny. We did ask her
    Hi Vinny. We did ask her more than once, she said only thick skinned fruits are OK since the pesticides and herbicides and whatever else they are using to grow them cannot penetrate that skin. Cooking also kills the chemicals that are very high in the raw products. So we know she's right. I just haven't seen anyone else doing that except her and one other person online.

    Fruit
    I couldn't get enough fruit, especially peaches. My onc never said anything to me about no fruit. I think he wanted me to eat whatever I could handle as I was so underweight, but I don't know.

    He did bring me a huge cookie one time while I was getting chemo cause he knew I couldn't help but eat it LOL.
  • m-star
    m-star CSN Member Posts: 441
    #11
    dixiegirl said:

    Fruit
    I couldn't get enough fruit, especially peaches. My onc never said anything to me about no fruit. I think he wanted me to eat whatever I could handle as I was so underweight, but I don't know.

    He did bring me a huge cookie one time while I was getting chemo cause he knew I couldn't help but eat it LOL.

    never heard of this before.
    never heard of this before. Maybe you could ask her just to explains the reasons behind this a bit more?

    Another site i am a member of,alot of the women/men on their have adapted their diet to ONLY 'eat' veggies that are juiced.Some of them (and i am a sceptic) have healed themselves to a degree by just consuming raw,juiced veg.

    Now i would never advocate doing what they did and choosing holistic over conventional med's,but one lasy in particular who was told they could do nothing more for her a number of years ago,is still there!

    so i dont understand why your hubby cannot eat fruit and veg providing it is organic and well washed. You can even go as far as to mildly sterilize it using Milton fluid that you'd use for babies bottles.

    At the end of the day,fruit and many veg are CRAMMED full of cancer fighting anti-oxidants. My onc told me to eat lots of them when i had HL back in 1990. The only fruit i could not eat was banana funnily enough! But that was because it could cause a chemical reaction with one of the drugs i was given.Also had to avoid cheese,alcohol and Marmite
  • vinny59
    vinny59 CSN Member Posts: 1,036 Member
    #12
    Hoppy23 said:

    Hi Vinny. We did ask her
    Hi Vinny. We did ask her more than once, she said only thick skinned fruits are OK since the pesticides and herbicides and whatever else they are using to grow them cannot penetrate that skin. Cooking also kills the chemicals that are very high in the raw products. So we know she's right. I just haven't seen anyone else doing that except her and one other person online.

    hi
    She must really feel strongly about it, nothing wrong with that.... I just have the attitude that if fresh fruit makes me feel better mentally I would eat some some in moderation, but I'm not a doctor.......... take care
  • Hoppy23
    Hoppy23 Member Posts: 26
    #13
    m-star said:

    never heard of this before.
    never heard of this before. Maybe you could ask her just to explains the reasons behind this a bit more?

    Another site i am a member of,alot of the women/men on their have adapted their diet to ONLY 'eat' veggies that are juiced.Some of them (and i am a sceptic) have healed themselves to a degree by just consuming raw,juiced veg.

    Now i would never advocate doing what they did and choosing holistic over conventional med's,but one lasy in particular who was told they could do nothing more for her a number of years ago,is still there!

    so i dont understand why your hubby cannot eat fruit and veg providing it is organic and well washed. You can even go as far as to mildly sterilize it using Milton fluid that you'd use for babies bottles.

    At the end of the day,fruit and many veg are CRAMMED full of cancer fighting anti-oxidants. My onc told me to eat lots of them when i had HL back in 1990. The only fruit i could not eat was banana funnily enough! But that was because it could cause a chemical reaction with one of the drugs i was given.Also had to avoid cheese,alcohol and Marmite

    HI m-star. Hubby's doctor
    HI m-star. Hubby's doctor is OK with him eating cooked fruits and veggies all he wants. It's only the fresh she doesn't want him to eat. We asked her again yesterday and she said infection rates are more when eating fresh fruits and veggies and she again insisted only on thick skinned fruits. She also gave us the OK to eat mangoes LOL. My hubby's immune system is down the drain as it is and she doesn't want to risk any infection.
  • Hoppy23
    Hoppy23 Member Posts: 26
    #14
    vinny59 said:

    hi
    She must really feel strongly about it, nothing wrong with that.... I just have the attitude that if fresh fruit makes me feel better mentally I would eat some some in moderation, but I'm not a doctor.......... take care

    hello Vinny. Hope you're
    hello Vinny. Hope you're doing great and your hemmroids are better.

    We were at the doctor's office yesterday because hubby has a bad bad cold, and again she insisted NO fresh stuff. He can eat fresh mangoes since they are also thick skinned, but no grapes or peaches or apricots. She said infection rates increase with fresh fruits and veggies even if they are washed well. Cooking kills of any small infectious organisms that might be in those foods. So we will do anything she says. I just want my husband to be healthy and cancer free and to live 100 more years and be able to play and enjoy our 20 months old daughter :-)
  • m-star
    m-star CSN Member Posts: 441
    #15
    Hoppy23 said:

    HI m-star. Hubby's doctor
    HI m-star. Hubby's doctor is OK with him eating cooked fruits and veggies all he wants. It's only the fresh she doesn't want him to eat. We asked her again yesterday and she said infection rates are more when eating fresh fruits and veggies and she again insisted only on thick skinned fruits. She also gave us the OK to eat mangoes LOL. My hubby's immune system is down the drain as it is and she doesn't want to risk any infection.

    ahh ok. so when you say
    ahh ok. so when you say fresh,you mean raw! lol sorry,i misinterpretted that.
    Fresh fruit/veg in the uk,just means fresh from the ground, ie, not frozen or canned =)

    As long as he can get his vits/antioxodants thru cooked stuff then thats no so bad. Except when you REALLY fancy some nice fruits and you cant have them,it makes you want them even more!

    What about pomegranates? They have thick skin and are full of antioxidants.
  • Hoppy23
    Hoppy23 Member Posts: 26
    #16
    m-star said:

    ahh ok. so when you say
    ahh ok. so when you say fresh,you mean raw! lol sorry,i misinterpretted that.
    Fresh fruit/veg in the uk,just means fresh from the ground, ie, not frozen or canned =)

    As long as he can get his vits/antioxodants thru cooked stuff then thats no so bad. Except when you REALLY fancy some nice fruits and you cant have them,it makes you want them even more!

    What about pomegranates? They have thick skin and are full of antioxidants.

    Hi again m-star. I'm sorry
    Hi again m-star. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. My bad :-)

    Pomegranades are OK too, but they get him TOO constipated, so we are waiting for orange season so we could add some fresh oranges to them to help with the constipation. She also said he could peel some apples and eat them. So he does have some varieties, he only craves the 3 or 4 things he cannot have :-)
  • dixiegirl
    dixiegirl CSN Member Posts: 1,043 Member
    #17
    depends
    I asked my onc about this today, and he said it's all relative to your blood counts. I didn't have any issues with mine which is why no restrictions.
  • merrywinner
    merrywinner CSN Member Posts: 626 Member
    #18
    dixiegirl said:

    depends
    I asked my onc about this today, and he said it's all relative to your blood counts. I didn't have any issues with mine which is why no restrictions.

    Good
    Well that's good to know because I craved and ate so much fruit during my treatments.
    I also had no restrictions.
  • Dapsterd
    Dapsterd CSN Member Posts: 291
    #19
    Fruit/Veggies
    I too was told not to eat certain fruits and veggies...but chemo brain cant remember what the exlanation was !!

    I am a Lung Cancer patient, however my dad has NHL, so I check this board for him.

    I think it was that the anitoxidents actually may interfere with chemo drugs, but ironically my Rad Onc told me this, not my main Hem/Onc.

    Keep asking questions ..!!!

    Dave
  • Tracie1981
    Tracie1981 CSN Member Posts: 125
    #20
    Dapsterd said:

    Fruit/Veggies
    I too was told not to eat certain fruits and veggies...but chemo brain cant remember what the exlanation was !!

    I am a Lung Cancer patient, however my dad has NHL, so I check this board for him.

    I think it was that the anitoxidents actually may interfere with chemo drugs, but ironically my Rad Onc told me this, not my main Hem/Onc.

    Keep asking questions ..!!!

    Dave

    I was told the same
    The reason being was because I was considered neutropenic, where my body reacted badly to the chemo and my WBC dropped dramatically and was unable to fight off infection. They eventually started giving me the neulasta shot after every chemo and now I'm allowed to have fresh fruits and veggies again. :)

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