Dad ileostomy / stoma 66 now chemo

Hi Clarey03

You clearly love your dad ! One of the most powerful things you can do to help him in my opinion is just showing up . That is a big motivator in tough days ahead .

I will however try and answer your questions . Chemo is a tough one as some people really find it tough to eat . My mum was one of them . We wanted to focus on nutrition but had to switch to making calories the priority. Also what was tolerable . She did take manukau honey as I had read an article on the antibacterial properties and to be fair did not have one infection over her two years of treatment. However afterwards I found out we should have discussed it with her oncologist as some interact with chemo . That may have changed but best to check everything out . It would amaze you what can interact . I have seen people talk about Vit c injections but again I would talk all of this through with his oncologist as they will seek to endure chemo gets a straight run .

Immunotherapy is not normally a first line treatment and quite hard to get . But is only effective in patients with some specific cells like MSI and some patients with lynch syndrome benefit from it . However chemo can be very powerful . Immunotherapy is normally used in stage 4 patients . 
My own approach was to take things slowly , each chemo session at a time and see how each one was tolerated and assess to see if we could support her in various ways .

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Take care ,

Court 

Thankyou , he’s meeting with oncologist on Tuesday so maybe they should double check about mannuka honey and vitamin IV’s and shots etc . I know some oncologists are more open then others according to friends x

Thank you so much for your reply Court lots of love to you and your family . 

Hi Clarey03

That’s roughly the feeling I get too! I think sometimes it’s hard for oncologist as some patients start taking masses of stuff and creat other issues for them to manage . However they will fully guide him . 

My mum still takes the honey ! During chemo all our best plans got shelved however after chemo was finished she was very careful and took the opportunity to build up her immune system again . That was helpful !

There is some current research on the benefits of even a small walk ! You might be interested to ask about that ! 

When my mum was first diagnosed there was a lot of talk about vit c but not seen so much lately.

One thing I did find was the oncologist was very up to date on research so even although they said no to some things they gave a good scientific reason as well so that was fair enough !

When does your dad start treatment ?

Take care ,

Court 

Hello Court ,

thanks once again for your time .  He meets oncologist Tuesday and starts the following week I think . 
I was wondering if he could take the oral vitamin D sprays just one under the tongue from now as he has been taking it for years along with tumeric and a few other supplements. 
I wanted him to get a decent alkaline water filter also as I know cancer grows in acidic bodies , and obviously he can’t follow the alkaline diet when newly adjusting to stoma.

The amount of sugar and chemically/ processed snacks etc he requires is worrying me as I know it feeds cancer , but with the ileostomy makes everything so hard .

anything you can recommend that helps someone with chemo side affects would be really appreciated. 
I know this is a hard question as everyone’s are different, or any questions. 
many thanks 

Clare xxxx