Diet and supplements

Hi MrsJ,

Absolutely rotten to be diagnosed with something like this at such a young age.

I also have a inoperable lesion in my brain stem.  And I have had radiotherapy but immunotherapy rather than chemo.  Kidney cancer is my primary cancer, so the treatment will be different.

I didn't change anything in my diet for radiotherapy, or immunotherapy.  The only advice I was given was to drink plenty of liquids.  I had no issues with diet until I switched to a targeted therapy which has made me lactose intolerant.

My only advice is to trust the oncology team rather than anything you find online, you have enough to worry about without adding problems which don't exist yet.

I hope the treatment goes well. You are in my thoughts.

Best wishes.

Thanks for replying Sandy. I hope you’re feeling better after the radio and immunotherapy. 
May I ask what the targeted therapy you’re having is? 

my oncologist is adamant there is no clinical evidence of diet helping or hindering. i am a vegetarian and make sure I watch my sugar intake. was advised against supplements. giood luck

Thanks for replying Tashie. Hope all is well with you. 

My targeted therapy was Cabozantinib, switched to Everlimos and Levatinib in August 2025.  I understand that these are specific to kidney cancer though.

The common factor in all treatments so far is that they leave me feeling exhausted.  So I just do what I can.  Easy enough to cope whilst it's giving some benefit.

Best wishes.

Hi Sandy, I’m glad the therapy is working for you, take care xx

Hi MrsJ

a warn welcome to the group. Sorry to hear about all that's going on with your son. Life's too cruel.

The best people to speak to about your son's diet is his medical team. They should be able to refer you to a dietician. 

There's some general information on the MacMIllan website. I looked it up for you -Diet and food supplements | Macmillan Cancer Support

I supported my late husband through the 3 years of his stage 4 Brain tumour journey and while I ensured he ate well, his overall diet was awful! He had a sweet tooth and took a ton of sugar in his tea and coffee, he would eat biscuits by the packet and bags of crisps by the multipack, He also liked a drink!  We reached a stage where I thought "what's the point in stopping him?"

What did appear to stand G in good stead was exercise. He was a marathon runner and continued to run up until a couple of months before his death. When he could no longer run, he would walk or cycle on his static bike. Six days before he passed away, he cycled in the garage for 3 hrs. 

This is a safe and supportive space so please reach out here anytime. There's always someone about to listen who gets it, someone to hold your hand and to offer a virtual hug when its needed. You're not alone. We've got you.

It’s always good to talk so please remember that you can also call the Macmillan Support Services on 0808 808 00 00 - most services are open 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week Clicking here to see what is available. This service provides lots of cancer information, emotional support, benefit and financial guidance or just a listening ear.

For now though I'm sending you a huge virtual hug and lots of positive energy

love n hugs

Wee Me  xx

Thank you so much for this information Wee Me and looking it up for me. Thanks for sharing G’s story too, I really appreciate that. I’ll have a read up now. I hope you’re doing ok xxx

I was offered a nutritionalist to help balance my appetite. Your health care worker can provide information for this. To be honest I never it/ her/ him. But I do try to eat sensible. Hope your all doing good

Thanks for this info WJ. We’re just trying to manage sickness at the moment from the radio. He is really focused on eating healthily.