New to forum worried about food

Hi Philtyr and a warm welcome to this corner of the Community although I am always sorry to see folks joining us. I am Mike and I help out around our various Lymphoma groups. I was diagnosed way back in 1999 at 43 with a rare, incurable but treatable type of Low Grade NHL eventually reaching Stage 4a so although my Lymphoma ‘type’ may be different to your I do appreciate the challenges of this journey rather well.

What type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma have you been diagnosed with?

The Risk of infection is ever present and unfortunately for most - it's part of the treatment journey.

Part of the way chemotherapy works is it kills fast growing cells and this includes not only the cancer cells, but your white blood cells (neutrophils) that fight infections.

There is some debate about whether patients need to change their diet to prevent infections when having chemo. Some doctors and dieticians believe it’s very important to follow strict dietary guidelines. Others give less strict advice. This is because we don’t have evidence behind this and we are using professional opinion. This can be confusing but general food safety and hygiene are very important…… and why take the chance of developing a food based infection.

The tips below is taken from what I was given by my Haematology Unit Dietitian..... her initial basic concept was I was on a pregnancy diet although that meant nothing to me  but it was all about our immune system not being able to fight simple food bugs.

Always around to help more or just to chat and help out.

Some tips for you:

Shop smart – Check foods are in date.

Make sure you get the chilled and frozen foods home quickly.

Prepare and clean up - Clean hands and the kitchen.

Use separate chopping boards for raw and ready to eat foods.

Prevent cross-contamination - Separate raw meats, chicken, seafood from ready to eat foods in the fridge.

Cook food properly, piping hot throughout.

Eat out in clean places and make sure your food is hot.

Don't have carry out food as you can not control it.

Eat

Meat, chicken and fish cooked through

Pasteurised milk

Cooked eggs with a firm yolk

Washed fresh or cooked fruit and vegetables

Hard cheese or soft cheese made from pasteurised milk

Vacuum-packs meat, ham.

Re-heat cold rice till it is steaming all the way through.

Some foods have a higher risk of becoming tainted with bacteria. Here are some foods you might want to avoid.

Avoid

Raw or undercooked meat, chicken, fish and no shellfish

Unpasteurised or raw milk

Raw or undercooked eggs

Unwashed fresh fruit and vegetables

Soft cheeses made from unpasteurised milk

Uncovered deli meats

Cold rice

To limit your risk of infection from food:

• Cooking food (eggs/meat/fish) thoroughly and having good hand hygiene.
• Avoid cross-contamination between cooked and raw foods
• Wash fruit and vegetables well
• Avoid unpasteurised cheeses and milk
• Choose pasteurised milk, yoghurts and cheese
• Ensure that food is in date
• If having cooked/cured meat, opt to vacuum packed and not from the deli counter.