Chemo advice please

[neilyoungismyhero]

Hi everyone- need some of your wisdom please. A close family member is starting 6 months of chemo.

Looking for advice really on the best way to support her with the most appropriate diet and anything else we can do on a purely practical basis.
Thank you.

Perhaps do some meal prep for her to freeze, small simple meals (not spiced).
My friend bought me loads of practical things like healthy snacks, some nice skin cream.
If money is an issue perhaps you could do other things, like do her food shopping for her and such like.

DH went through it and had no appetite. Cancer patients have higher protein needs and I read that the Japanese were doing some studies on papaya killing cancer cells. So, I diced fruit, including a lot of papaya and froze it on trays. Pineapple, papaya, berries, whatever was on sale. Every morning, I’d pour a protein drink into the blender, add a scoop of extra protein powder, add water to thin it and pour in frozen fruits instead of ice. It was like a fruity milkshake and he could stomach it. It kept him going and he enjoyed them. By the middle of the treatments, I just wanted him to have calories, as he lost weight and was so drained. A lot of foods tasted funny, metallic, but he could always tolerate the milkshakes and also ice cream. Forget aiming for a “balanced” diet during treatment. Go for what she can tolerate.

Thanks..they're OK financially.
I was wondering if she would feel like eating? And if there were any substitutes? Complan? Does that still exist? Worried that she will need 'building up' but not sure how. Skin cream is a nice idea too.

I did chemo for 4 months for breast cancer. There are lots of different chemos and they can have different side effects and vary person to person. There isn't a special diet. Appetite can often be up due to steroids and its best I found to eat little and often to avoid weight gain if that might be an issue though they do not want weight loss and prefer weight gain to weight loss. Sometimes I felt a bit sick, there are lots of tablets they give you to minimise this but creamy things would avoid. If you are providing food ask what they would like, infection risk is a big thing so need to be very careful around that.

If she's doing one with a risk of neuropathy iced things can help. I had a coolbox to take to chemo and ate ice lollies, had iced gloves for chemo and iced socks (get from Amazon and keep in coolbox). Mine was Paclitaxel. But would advise asking what they want as people will vary and it can vary day to day. What I found helpful was help with practical things so we paid a cleaner once a month, a lot of people like gardening / plants but may need some help. I liked it when people asked how I was feeling rather than just want to hear all was fine or not make contact. I preferred not visitors due to infection risk but this will vary and some people may feel isolated without people esp if alone. Ask with no pressure either way might be best.

Worth going to dentist pre chemo and getting anything done, may need to go private for this - I had to but he was lovely and gave me extra fluoride prescription only toothpaste. Get any work that needs doing done now. Its very common to have serious dental issues after chemo. I have avoided any a year out due to my amazing dentist.

Hope it goes as well as it can for them. Some days you feel too shattered to do anything.

Lovely creamy good quality ice cream went down a treat. I enjoyed honeyed and smoked almonds and other nuts. Doriano's Italian crackers (our equivalent to US saltines) are great for nausea and easy to eat. I went off a lot of foods and drinks, I even needed to add squash to water (and I was always a heavy water drinker).

Sometimes I felt low in iron and then eating things like steak in red wine sauce with asparagus and new potatoes was good. You are not supposed to take vitamin supplements other than the odd one (check with oncology) so its good to get nutrients via food.

If they have a partner its also quite hard on them if they need to do a lot of caring. I did find the odd day out was really helpful, like seeing puffins in Wales. But it can be hard to predict when the best time is for that. A symptoms diary is useful to keep as it tends to follow a cycle each cycle. With a 3 week regime generally week 3 is the best week. I did weekly.

For me most of my favourite foods I couldn't stand during chemo.

I ate a very beige diet. Toast, cornflakes etc. some days I'd really fancy something particular but most days not.

DP has been having chemo on and off for 3 years. I think everyone is different but he found he ate more while having chemo because of the steroids and it actually helped with the sickness but it was more beige stuff. Easily digestible bland foods like cheese on toast became his staple for chemo days and he tended to graze more and snack rather than have full meals.

How often will the chemo be?

I have had two family members on chemo and their experience was broadly the same - OK on the day of chemo, sick and in bed for 2/3 days after then a week of being mostly fine.

If you can, plan day trips (but not strenuous!) lunch out etc in the ‘mostly fine’ week as it gives something to look forward to. I honestly wouldn’t bother with giving face creams/smellies to close family/friends because they are bound to get loads from other people.

Pop round with some light food for the sicky times. Offer to wash bed sheets, pjs, towels etc - although there can be rules about washing so check before you do it.

Both family members lost weight but it came back on when chemo stopped.

Chemo affected me in a few ways. My skin became super sensitive and commercial soaps, cleansers, shampoos etc brought me out in a heavy sore rash. I found only two soaps I could use, hand made oatmeal soap and hand made goats milk soap. I had to use that for about a year.There's a place in the new forest that makes them.

And any foods with preservatives or refined sugar made my mouth sore. I craved fresh green veg, and fish. I lived on veggie soups, root veg and fish/chicken for almost a year.

The best help I had while undergoing chemo was my lovely sis came and did the school run for me for a week after each treatment. Chemo gave me brain fog and I really wasn't safe behind the wheel.

But I didn't get the side effects I'd been warned about - no sore feet, no upset tum,

I hope your relative copes well.

Apparently sugar feeds cancer cells so high protein low sugar diet might be worth doing.

Yes she's been told to save her outings and whatnot until the 3rd week.

Thanks for the replies and support. As you say I'll be led by her then. I suppose it's normal to try and build people up but of course not always the thing to do when you're feeling rubbish.
Her chemo starts next week.

This is NOT true at all. Please do not spread this rumour.

During my chemo, I ate whatever I fancied on the day.