Looking for advice on food and supplements whilst undergoing treatment

Hi Chloe1306 

Can I ask if you’ve been researching on the treatment specifically for cervical cancer or more generally on treatment for cancer? The reason I ask this that the chemo used during concurrent chemoradiation -Cisplatin-is a low dose which helps make the radiotherapy more effective and is different to stand alone chemo treatment for other cancers. It doesn’t make you lose your hair for example.

I was never told to avoid cold food and drink-certain chemo treatment can give issues with drinking cold liquid but not to my knowledge Cisplatin. I had no vomiting or nausea at all, and normally treatment is only around 5 weekly chemo sessions. I was told not to take supplements during chemo-depending on what they are they can interfere with chemo, so I’d check with your team if you wish to take specific supplements. You are given anti sickness medication as part of chemo infusions, and anti sickness tablets to take after chemo sessions. 

I was much more affected by radiotherapy than chemo, from about 3 weeks into treatment with bad diarrhoea and cystitis. I was advised to have a low fibre diet and reduce fruit and veg, and to eat more plain, bland food. This can help avoid wind and bowel issues. I wasn’t particularly interested in food, and small, regular meals were better for me than trying to eat a big meal. I was given medication to help with all my side effects,which also included heartburn. It sounds counterintuitive not to eat a “healthy” diet, but it helped me during radiotherapy in particular to reduce wind, bloating and diarrhoea. 

You need to be warned about all the potential side effects from treatment to sign consent, but it doesn’t mean you will have all or any of them, so it’s hard to anticipate side effects in advance, as we all react differently. It’s best to see how you are, and ask for help if you experience anything specific. Things improved for me very soon after treatment ended and went back to normal as regards appetite and side effects. 

Sarah xx

Hi Sarah, thank you, and I just wanted to say I really truly appreciate you, I’ve only been here a few days and your answers and responses are always so reassuring.. 

most of my research has been on MacMillan so I suppose some could be general although I have tried to as much as possible read based on cervical cancer.

ive been on a health journey for 2 years so I’ll welcome a few cheat weeks, suppose there has to be some perks along with the free parking at the hospital and a prescription exemption… 

There are so many different chemos for different cancers, and some are definitely harsher than others on the body. But Macmillan has lots of information on all different types and you can trust it to be reliable and accurate when you are researching. The same for Cancer Research UK and the NHS. Some internet searches can bring up things which may be scary or simply wrong and may not apply to you. 

Once you have your staging and treatment plan the type of chemo will be confirmed-some ladies, depending on stage, have a course of chemo of a different type prior to the chemoradiation starting but you’ll know more when you get your scan results. 

Parking at Weston Park can be a challenge if the car park is full-there can be a lot of queuing and there is a one in, one out system, but you’ll be directed where to park by the car park guys. I had 32 radiotherapy sessions so I was sick of the place by the end! My consultant saw me once a week during radiotherapy and was happy to write a script for anything I needed which we could collect at the hospital pharmacy before we left. I still get free prescriptions as I turned 60, so it’s a help as I have ongoing medication for non cancer issues and take tablets daily. 

Well done on being on a health journey for 2 years, as that will hopefully stand you in good stead. You might not to adapt much during treatment-but wind and/or bowel issues can be an issue for a lot of people having pelvic radiotherapy and need some tweaks to your diet, but it’s only normally temporary. 

Sarah xx

Hi Chloe good luck with your treatment plan I’m sure you’ll be just fine. I’m 8 months into remisssion from stage 3c cervical cancer which had started to spread to 2 pelvic lymph nodes and had chemoradiotherapy and brachytherapy, my treatment was a complete success as I’m sure yours will be too. I beefed myself up by a few pounds before I started chemo as I thought I would loose lots of weightut I actually put it on instead haha. Your taste buds change temporarily so for instance even after the first time I had chemo the thought of a cuppacino or hot drink made me feel sick to think abouwhen I used to have a takeaway cuppacino every day before hand. I also went off chocolate and remember fancying quite plain foods like rotisserie chicken and chips anything beige I fancied. I found e little Madeline sponge cakes helped me with nausea but even the whole 7 weeks of treatment I was never sick as in vomited, just had a feeling of icky ness which was manageable with the anti sickne tablets they give you. I also remeber dinners that were particularly Rick or tomato saucy based made me get diarrhoea straight after instantly as your get IBS from the radiotherapy but all that seted down after time. I would say just have what you fancy and try to include some smoothies so your getting your 5 a day x x x good luck  and I feel you will be absolutely fine

Hello Chloe1306 I did suffer from nausea but the anti sickness medication they give helps and can be changed about to find something that works better for you! 

It’s so strange how my taste buds changed through all of this, I’m a coffee drinker, never ever liked tea, but during chemo would drink tea  now I’ve stopped chemo I can’t stand tea! Also spicy food didn’t taste the same as it used to, again it’s gone back to normal since finishing chemo. I also loved lemon cake while on chemo . 

all the best for your treatment! X

Hi, I hope you don’t mind I’ve sent you a friend request, your a similar age to me, with similar circumstances and we seem to both be going through this at the same time x 

That’s not a problem! I’ve accepted ️ if I can help in any way I will xx

Hi,

I had chemoradiotherapy and brachytherapy I was 2b stage 3. I progressively got worse with stomach and bowel over the treatment weeks. I found some food tasted horrible - strawberry yogurt was revolting! 
I had a few different types of anti sickness which helped until two hours before the next dose.

Upset tummy and wind - peppermint tea

Nausea- ginger tea, ginger nut biscuits.

Foods that were easy to eat - popcorn, porridge, toast, soup, jacket potatoes, omelettes, scrambled egg, yoghurts

Foods to avoid - beans, runny eggs, cabbage , broccoli, cauliflower, onions, garlic, chilli (fodmap) 

Those are really useful to know, I did wonder about ginger biscuits I remember they were good for morning sickness.