Supplements

Hi LizW2025,

I’m Lorna one of the cancer information nurse specialists on the support line.

Welcome back to the online community. I hope you are finding it useful and getting a lot of support from it too. 

It’s only natural to want to take vitamins and supplements to help you during your treatment from HER2 positive breast cancer.

We all need small amounts of vitamins and minerals to help our bodies work properly. Nutrients can be good for us, but they can also be harmful and cause bad side effects if taken in large amounts. They can also affect cancer treatments, like chemotherapy, and make them less effective.

Chemotherapy can cause a loss of appetite and taste changes too, this can result in you not eating as much, and needing supplements, which your cancer doctor will prescribe for you.

 If you are thinking of taking any food supplements, its important to speak to your cancer doctor or specialist nurse. They have access to all your medical records and will be able to advise you. You might find a pharmacist helpful and the cancer and nutrition helpline can answer any questions you might have too.

Penny Brohn have online sessions about nutrition and you might find Sloan Kettering’s herbs, botanicals and other products a good source of information.

I hope this is helpful. If you have any further questions, please get in touch by email, webchat or phone. The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks* on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm. You can also visit our Online Community, where you can talk to others who have been affected by cancer. 

Best wishes,
Lorna
Macmillan Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
Macmillan Support Line

Ref: LB/DW

Hi Lorna,

This is great thank you!! Appreciate your help and support!!

Kind regards,

Liz