Friend diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, as adult, (31 y.o. F) What food to eat during chemo?
My friend was diagnosed Wednesday with A.L.L. She starts chemo on Monday. What kind of food can she/should she eat to prepare her body for chemo? Are there any good information sources out there for adults dealing with this disease?
- int med rn
Any foods that can be tolerated, as the chemo will usually make you really nauseated. Best to eat small meals frequently, which is what my patients say works to control the nausea. Check out the that American cancer society web site at www.cancer.org. It will give you a lot of information.
- Stephanie
well, first of all she should begin an antidepressant to help. sometimes an anti-anxiety medication in addition will also be beneficial.
as for food, some folks have no problem eating, others do. chances are she will not feel like eating because being on chemotherapy dries the mouth which makes food taste more like it's burning the mouth verses taste itself.
make sure she drinks pleanty of water (ice water) on treatment. this will lesson the sides. it also helps to drink the water during a meal too, take a bite and chew, drink water when it starts to burn. even though she may not taste the actual food, she will at least get some food down.
the best thing for me on chemo was a very berry smoothie.
non-fat frozen vanilla yoghurt (one cup), whey protein (1 tbs), half a cup of frozen mixed berries, one cup cranberry juice and about 6 to 8 ice cubes. blend it all up and drink that every day, make sure she has a well insulated cup with lid so it doesn't melt as fast. being cold, it will feel to her as though her mouth isn't as dry and she will actually be able to taste it.
i lived on those everyday for 48 weeks. I also ate a bite or two of food (although fried foods were NASTY-so I didnt eat much of that) but a bite here and there throughout the day will work wonders in addition to that shake. If she finishes the shake, she will have to make another.
Food also smells pretty good on chemo, but taste wise? yuck!
good luck and have her kick some ALL butt!
p.s. Ensure makes a very good nutritional drink as well, but again, it's best served ice, ice cold. The only draw back is they are expensive.
- midnightmoon62
I don't really know that there are foods to 'prepare' your body for chemo. ALL is the childhood version of the cancer, so there wil not be tons of info for adults but there is some. Check the leukemia and lymphoma society and your local book store.
Further more, the chemo she will be going through will be strong and her white blood count will be next to zero - much lower than other cancer pts. During the neutrupenic time (time in which the infection fights white blood cells are below 1000) she will not be able to eat fresh fruits or veggies and meat will need to be thoroughly cooked. The docs will go over this diet very will with her. If she has any questions about foods she should ask.
Also, the strong chemo will probably make her nauseated. She can easily get meds for this, some of the most common given for this reason is phenegran, ativan, and compazine. The phenegran actually is for nausea, the ativan is a mild nerve pill that will help relax the mind and muscles allowing the pt to calm down, stop puking and sleep. The compazine is actually a migrain medication, and will put you to sleep so you no longer feel nauseated or puke.
Back to foods, the smell of most hot cooked food will be enough to make her sick. Food smells are less nauseating when the food is cooled before eating. I know right now you think it would suck to eat all your food cold, but I can guarantee she will want it cold after getting sick a couple times.
Leukemia — Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, risk factors, treatment of this blood-related cancer.
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