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Cooking for the sick


Susanwusan

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As heidih said, every person is different, and every chemo cocktail is different.  I did chemo 8.5 years ago (not that I am counting haha!) and was given the standard literature about what to eat if/when things started tasting metallic.  One thing I did personally during that time was not to eat with metal utensils or off metal plates.  I used bamboo only.  I have no idea if it helped at all, I'm just mentioning it as something to try.  

 

What I remember most is that acidic foods were called out as being problematic for people that have issues with metallic tastes during chemo.  In general, bland foods were recommended--like cream of wheat, clear broths and simple soups, oatmeal, applesauce, plain grilled chicken, stewed fruit. simple pasta dishes (no tomato sauce), Ensure to fill the gaps if you lost your appetite.  Raw vegetables and fruits, beans, rare meats and rare fish etc. and spicy foods were all not recommended, I think more out of concern for digestive upset than any other reason.  My oncologist told me to just eat whatever seemed appealing at the time and not to worry about what I chose.   I did not eat the recommended bland foods.  I was lucky in the taste department and never lost my appetite or the ability to taste things correctly, which surprised my oncologist a bit.  

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9 hours ago, heidih said:

The hospital clinical dietitian is often an excellent overlooked resource.  Every  body  is  different.

Yes, most cancer centres administering chemo drugs have a dedicated dietitian on staff.

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20 hours ago, Susanwusan said:

It would be the palliative care stage, trying to avoid metallic tasting food.

Doesn't that by definition mean chemo is no longer on the table? 

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9 minutes ago, Susanwusan said:

I don't really know, but they are definitely palliative.

This is veering  off topic. Where I live, in the US, palliative care means keeping the patient comfortable, and no extraordinary measures like surgery or intense drug treatments like chemo. Anyway - the most important person, the patient, can give you the best input on what tastes good/ok/unpleasant.  When you feel like crud you may not care. Good luck for the situation you are trying to assist with.

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2 hours ago, Susanwusan said:

I don't really know, but they are definitely palliative.

Chemo can absolutely be part of palliative care.  It used to be that palliative care was always considered "end-of-life" care.  Now it is more about easing people's pain/anxiety/etc. issues when they have ongoing, chronic health issues that likely won't be "cured".  

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  • 2 weeks later...

It may be a bit late, and may not contain anything you haven't already learned by now, but I found a link to this pamphlet in the materials I was given while prepping for my own treatments.

Eating Well When You Have Cancer

“Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.” - William Cowper, The Task, Book Three

 

"Not knowing the scope of your own ignorance is part of the human condition...The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you’re a member of the Dunning-Kruger club.” - psychologist David Dunning

 

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