Eating Well

My Granddaughter, Jamie, has encouraged me to publish this page. Good nutrition and eating is essential to staying healthy and having the necessary energy to withstand Chemotherapy. This page is designed to share what happens to a person having treatment and how the side effects, affects their diet.

Day of Chemotherapy and Following Treatment
It is reccomended to eat a low fat, light meal prior to treatment such as cereal, toast, oatmeal, grits, fruit cocktail, peach or pear nectar. The next 24 hours following treatment try liquids, soups, puddings or sandwiches. Avoid high fat, fried or greasy foods. And, drink lots of water.

Dry mouth and lack of appetite is commonly associated with treatments. Some tips for alleviating this is to eat 6 small meals a day; avoiding spicy, salty or citrus foods. Chewing sugar-free gum or sucking on sugar-free candies or on Cephacol lozenges will help with dryness. Mouth sores can be another problem it's best to avoid hot/cold foods and to eat or drink them at room temperature. Also it can help to eat soft foods like applesauce, pudding, mashed potatoes, pasta, scrambled eggs, cooked cereals or mashed veggies. Another unusual side effect is a metallic taste in your mouth, they say to use plastic utensils instead of silverware.

A loss of appetite can lead to poor nutrition so it's important that the foods I do eat are high in protein & calories. They suggest adding cream or butter to soups, cooked cereals and vegetables to increase the calories. Other ways to increase protein in my diet would be using fortified milk, peanut butter, cheese and chopped hard boiled eggs. Some people get so turned off by the smell of foods that they have meals prepared in a kitchen outside their home. Gretchen told me that I might not like the taste of meat because it has a metallic taste about it. Another friend who went through treatment said most foods lost their taste entirely. This may be a time of trying new foods if my old favorites don't taste the same. I've never really enjoyed seafood before, who knows, maybe after treatment I will?

I'm learning more about white blood cells vs red blood cells and everything in between. Low white blood cell count is common when someone has a lot of treamtents. I don't know if my 6 treatments are considered "a lot". But, if that happens it's called "neutropenia" It usually lasts 4-7 days. It is recommended to avoid crowds or anyone that is ill until my blood counts are normal again. This saddens me to think of needing to be isolated or living in a bubble. But, my doctor told me that as long as we wash our hands frequently & use hand sanitizers I should be okay and if someone is coughing keeping a 3ft clearance is safe. Another thing that needs to be avoided if I become neutropenic is raw fruits, vegetables, meat and seafood which are all carriers of bacteria. If I eat these foods during low blood count times it can lead to a systemic infection. Other things I'll have to avoid is frozen or dried fruits, honey (I can use molasses), uncooked herbs or spices and unprocessed cheeses or milks. I can have canned or cooked fruits, cooked or baked goods like jello, syrup, ice cream, sherbert, cooked soups and all breads, rolls or crackers in wrappers.

It's an awful lot to take in at one time. But, day by day I will learn to change some of my ways and form new eating habits. And if not, remember those watch dogs I spoke of? Well, they will be there to to be sure that I do what's expected of me. I appreciate all your support while I discover what my new "normal" is.


*Much of the information is taken from a book I received at the Cancer Center called "Eating Well Through Cancer" by Holly Clegg & Gerald Miletello, M.D.