Meals during and after chemotherapy

[Danestress]

Can any one give me some advice on this. I am making a schedule of meals for a friend starting chemotherapy. I am sure her plan is pretty typical - treatments every three weeks, but each treatment can be delayed if blood test in the days before are not what is optimal.

 

This makes scheduling meals really hard. How have others managed this? I am trying to schedule meals using an online service for the day of treatment itself, and then the third and fifth days after. It's just her and her husband, and she thinks this will be sufficient. But I hate to post dates through October and then have the calendar change because of bad white cell counts. I don't know a lot of her friends, so I do feel a bit funny about sudden changes, though I guess people roll with the punches.

 

Any advice?

[AvasMom]

I would just ask people not to include fresh fruits and vegetables at all. That should cover you whether she is neutropenic or not.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

I know of people who swear by the book, Cancer Healing Kitchen. It contains recipes for stuff to eat to help your body fight the cancer and inflammation in general, as well as what to eat to make you feel better during and after chemo.

[Mommyof4ks]

Honestly, she may not feel like eating at all many days, so I would just stick to a plan and realize that some days she may just freeze stuff, so make sure meals freeze well. I agree with the above poster who said no fresh fruits and veggies. We were told when the white count was below 500 those things were off limits. Your friends is blessed to have so many who care about her and want to help in this way.

[unsinkable]

My friend said a lot things didn't taste good, that they had a metallic taste. So I'd play things by ear and not plan too far ahead.

[Happy]

During chemo last year, I lived on ice cream, roast chicken, ranch dressing, ginger ale, crackers, and more ice cream. the only thing that tasted good to me was creamy stuff. Soup is good...my neighbor made me homemade cream of potato soup. Oh so good. Anything spicy set my sore mouth on fire. If she is on a three week rotation, the first week in the hardest probably. I made a point to eat beef the second week to help build my blood counts. Think small amounts. Think easy to store or freeze. Very few people brought us food--my husband and son both cook very well--which enabled us to be flexible. The rule was if I thought it would taste good, they would prepare or purchase. The worst part to me was that my nose still worked properly--things smelled wonderful, but the taste buds were in a coma. Cardboard would taste better. lol By the way, everyone's tastebuds respond differently. She will figure out what works best for her as time goes on. One other thing--if you can work fiber into the meal, so much the better. Chemo is h*ll on the digestive system. Keep it simple and go for comfort foods. My oncologist is a big believer in diet to fight cancer--even she said, just survive chemo, then change your diet. Everyone's situation is different. Let me know if I can help in any way. Sending good thoughts and prayers for your friend. One more thing...I would have loved someone to volunteer to clean my house or mow the lawn. We simply couldn't keep up with everything.

[Laurie4b]

It is going to depend on your friend's exact reaction to the exact chemo that she is getting and that may vary with each cycle. There will typically be a rhythm to her chemo cycles and her oncologist may be able predict pretty well which days she is most likely to feel bad. However, it does vary by patient. Some get mouth sores, some don't. Some have the way food tastes change; others don't. (The onc will know whether any of the chemo agents she's getting are likely to change her taste.) Some are extremely fatigued and may need more meals than you've planned and some won't. Some get dry mouth and everything tastes like eating cotton balls (smooth, cool creamy things work best if this happens.) Others don't. Protein is very needed to help the body rebuild healthy tissues, but it can get difficult to eat if there is dry mouth or taste changes.

 

I agree on no uncooked fresh fruits or veges.

 

So as much as you are wanting to plan ahead, I would make sure that your plan retains some flexibility and you can play it by ear.

 

And if you hear of anyone recommending any supplements, etc. please encourage your friend to talk with her onc. Because cancer cells grow so fast, they take up any nutrition the body gets first. There is therefore some evidence that supplements can protect the cancer cells. So just make sure she checks before taking anything.

[G5052]

It is nice that you are planning ahead, but I'd indeed get a week or so organized, and then call part way through to get feedback. Is it too much? Too little? Dishes they really liked? Then use that to plan.

 

Your role is ideally more than just coordinating meals. You want to try to get them meals they can eat.

[Guest inoubliable]

My friend said a lot things didn't taste good, that they had a metallic taste. So I'd play things by ear and not plan too far ahead.

 

 

I was going to mention something very similar. I've had two friends go through chemo and they both said that things tasted funny to them during treatment. I don't think I'd plan too far ahead until the person going through it can give some feedback on what still tastes good and what will stay down.

[J-rap]

Agree to all of the above, about having meals that can be frozen. I would also recommend that people bring it in containers that they do NOT want back, so that your friend doesn't have to hassle with cleaning them and remembering who they belong to and returning them.

 

I also like the suggestion that someone else made about making meals that do not promote inflammation. Inflammation can aggravate lots of health conditions.

[Ravin]

My mom found her tastes altered, and usually just wanted a certain brand of canned clam chowder when she didn't feel well but could eat.

I would keep the meals healthy, ask her what some favorite comfort foods are and work that in, and not be upset if they go uneaten.

[Halftime Hope]

I've often put a note on food that I take to church friends that this is "thank you note free" food. ; ) It seems to get a chuckle and let the person off the hook if they need or want it when the norm in this crowd is that people do write them. (As do I, always.) Having to write thank you notes would be such a task during chemo!

[Danestress]

I really appreciate all the replies. I have had several friends go through chemo and they all responded differently, but all of my friends who have gone this had children at home. When it's just the patient and spouse, the food is less about just relieving the chore of feeding the family and more about her own tastes - and also just a display of affection.

 

What she really wants most is people around her, which is great because I love being with her and have the time to do it.

 

Has anyone ever gone through this and continued to work? She really has to work. I know some men must manage. She will plan to take the worst days off when she is most vulnerable, but I am still worried. She has an aggressive cancer, caught early but pathologically quite serious:(

 

Also, she is horribly needle phobic, and has been her whole life - crying, shaking, miserably needle phobic. They did out a port in yesterday. Anyway, if anyone has a heart to pay for her, that would be nice.

[Laurie4b]

If she has to work, she'll need to decide which days off. Most likely the actual day she gets chemo, because the schedule is unpredictable and the drugs they give to curb side-effects can make one sleepy. But if she has a job in which she interacts with people, she may need to save her low white cell days for the days to take off because those are days she's most vulnerable to infection. She should ask her oncologist when these will be. They will know to the day when the count will go down and when it will go back up. It is not on the day of chemo that it goes down.

[Happy]

I worked a bit during chemo. I'm a real estate agent so I had a flexible schedule. I prayed for God to control the flow of my work--and he did! There are some of my clients who never knew I was doing chemo--it's amazing what a wig and drawing on eyebrows will do!!!!! My son drove me to a few appointments--I could do the appointment or drive, not both. My broker double checked every offer and contract I wrote because chemo-brain is real. Oddly enough chemo-brain didn't effect my real estate, except for remembering names and how to spell. Work is a challenge and I heard a lot of stories of people who worked during their chemo. My hat is off to them--chemo is hard work all by itself!