Diet during radiotherapy

Hello Montysdad, bit of a fraudulent reply I’m afraid! My husband has just finished chemo and I’m wondering what the wait is for RT now? We have various bits away booked but understand you cannot break the 7 weeks of radio so it’s giving me anxiety!

Also didn’t know he will have to follow a special diet, so all useful info for me as well. 
Many thanks and good luck’

Hello Alfie42A  The wait for RT varies around the Country - The best option is to contact your team - find out which oncology unit you will be under and ask them for an idea of when the RT will be.

Tell them you want to book holidays and have anxiety - I hope you get some answers.

Best wishes - Brian.

Hello montysdad and Alfie42A 

Most RT departments tell you eat healthy but avoid anything that will give you wind - they need you to stay still on the "sunbed". You will be given the information at the RT "planning scan" but the general rule is to avoid - Alcohol, Fizzy Drinks, Beans and Pulses Green Leaf Veg and Coffee - Spicy food is also best avoided.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes - Brian.

Thanks, Millibob. I've seen similar advice, but it feels like there isn't much left, apart from root veg.

I know what you mean - during Radiotherapy I lost about 11lb - but I must admit we had decent meals - we tried quite a lot of new stuff including vegetarian. One new dish we tried was Beetroot Risotto and it's become a firm family favourite!!

Hi montysdad  & Alfie42A ,  my advice would be to eat healthily now and if what you are eating gives you wind, then cut it out.  Try and get a routine and if possible regular bowel habits. For example, we changed from eating our main meal in the evening to having a main lunch meal and a snack later.  That worked for me and I had a routine poo before leaving for the hospital.  You may get given an enema which will help.  Just remember (unless the radiographers tell you different) that you are trying to achieve a full bladder and empty bowels. In simple terms, I  think, if you do that the RT has less chance of causing collateral damage while it is directed at your prostate.   The RT process really is  monotonous (I had 37 sessions), but it is for a limited period of time, so just lie back and enjoy it!  David

Hi montysdad .

I agree. It can be very confusing trying to adhere to the different advice on what to eat whilst having pelvic radiotherapy. Like David2017 , we found that getting into a routine of eating a main meal at lunchtime worked best, but also to eat little and often and ensure that protein levels were kept up. This kept the bowels regular. Also most air gets into the gut whilst eating and drinking so don't eat fast, chew food well and don't use a straw.

For breakfast porridge made with water and vegetable milk, topped with banana and a tablespoon of Greek yoghurt set the day up well, or yoghurt with melon, apple, banana or pear. Sometimes eggs and toast, -toast is kinder on the gut than bread.

Mid morning would be a a piece of oat bar made with honey.

Lunch was fish or white meat with a medley of vegetables (from the list -courgette, aubergine, pepper, sweet potato, butternut squash, celeriac, beetroot, carrot, turnip, swede, parsnip). I experimented beforehand to see if any particular veg did produce wind and found that small amounts of cauliflower, broccoli, runner beans, peeled tomato, onion in soup had no effect on the flatulence or wind side of things, provided they were well cooked, so kept them in the diet in moderation and didn't seem to cause a problem on the 'sunbed'.

Mid afternoon would be a piece of peeled fruit -melon, apple or pear. Again I found that other fruit like strawberry, raspberry, mandarin did not seem to affect the digestion adversely when eaten in moderation. 

Evening was a bowl of homemade vegetable soup on a chicken base. Sometimes eggs. Sardines on toast.

We did adhere to avoiding caffeine, fizzy drink, alcohol, processed foods, sugary foods, spicy food, limiting dairy.

Generally, because the advice had been conflicting and confusing I found that, provided my husband had regular bowel movements, and did not suffer from bloating or wind, then there wasn't too much tweaking to do to his normal diet. 

Hi Alwayshope.

That sounds about the best advice I've seen so far. I suspect I may struggle a little with the logistics of fitting it all in with a daily trek off on the train for four lots of five days. I guess there's a fait bit of experimentation involved.

One tip is to try and get a slot on the 'sunbed' at the same time every day and it is easy to carry a bit of oat bar and fruit with you on the train. By adjusting your routine before hand it gives your gut biome time to settle down and into a rhythm. I am sure your wife will enjoy experimenting and we found that our food repertoire increased, particularly with things like Kinoa (good for protein), and trying different vegetables and plant based milks. I now use a lot more herbs for flavour but make sure they are cooked whilst having radiotherapy. Have fun with it.

Todays offering is Kinoa and tuna stuffed courgettes with diced carrot and parsnip for lunch as hubby is currently having SBRT, and a celeriac with sweet potato chicken soup for this evening meal - just a couple of ideas.