Wide awake

Sorry for the delay  spursfan but have been out most of the day.  Yes, I agree with Alwayshope , day 3 worst and back to normal after a couple of off days.  Then repeat 3 weeks later.  I only managed 4 cycles (click on my avatar for info). We are all different in how we react, but the repeating seems to be normal. David

hey David wow some journey you are on and a very informative one at that, yours and others advice and support will continue setting me in good stead for my forthcoming journey, again many thanks.

Hi spursfan .

It is important to try and eat something, even if you don't feel like it. With hubby I made sure that he had things to browse on like a high protein nutty bar as well as feeding him little and often. Plenty of home made chicken, vegetable and lentil soups, basically anything I could get down him. The chemotherapy is killing off the cells in your body which divide quickly such as hair follicles, in the mouth and gut as well as the cancer cells. Normal cells need food to help them recover quickly so keep it tasty and not spicy. There were certain foods which he could not tolerate or irritated the gut. For safety he only had cooked food as raw or uncooked things like salad can lead to infection. Similarly be careful with eggs and yoghurt.

Hey Always again many many thanks for the more than welcome advice, i seem to be able tolerate cereal more than anything at present, Weetabix and Shreddies sounds strange i am sure, not attempted a cooked meal as such, had a tin of tomato soup with some granary bread yesterday, Greek yogurt and fresh fruit sounds appealing and the grazing on high protein sounds fine, i do really appreciate the advice as i still have 5 sessions of Chemo to go and this helps me prepare, 

have a great weekend and thanks again.     

Greek yoghurt is not a good idea whilst on chemotherapy. It contains good bacteria but if you try introducing it at the moment the bugs could overgrow other good bugs that you need in order to digest your food. You can eat yoghurt provided you pasteurised it to above 72C by heating it gently, then allow to cool - hence the warning to be careful. Similarly with the fruit, make sure it is very well washed and preferably peeled. Raw eggs can contain several bacteria so the advice is to only eat them if they are well cooked and don't eat anything which might contain raw eggs such as mayonnaise. The best way of keeping your gut in balance is to eat a range of foods which are easily digestible but ensure that you have plenty of protein particularly from things like chicken, turkey and fish and try to cook in the oven rather than frying. We have a dish out here called Briam (bree-am), which is basically potatoes, carrots, courgettes, aubergine and peppers cut into large chunks and covered with a tin of tomatoes plus oregano in a big covered casserole- cook at 160C in a fan oven for a good hour. It lasts for several days in the fridge and you can portion it up and reheat in the microwave.  You can also blitz it and make a nutritious soup.

I have heard of people only wanting breakfast cereals but nutritionally they are not giving you enough balance to help your body repair itself.

Hi spursfan , how are you feeling on day 4?  I don’t know how or where Alwayshope finds such brilliant answers, I just wish I had found this site at the beginning of my journey.  Best wishes, David

Good morning David,

mate............. Alwayshope is the Oracle an absolute legend in my eyes,

a little better i do believe, still not slept well but the aches and pains seem to be easing a little, i do feel a little constipated but i am taking a mild laxative twice a day as the the tumor in my rectum is causing trouble passing stools, if i can clear that i will be much more comfortable i think, still no great desire to eat much but will stick with the sound advice and see how i go, i am learning as i go and hope to be a little more prepared for the aftermath of my next session in a couple of weeks, i am tempted to mask up and get my Daughter to pick me up and go for a coffee somewhere quite as i have not been out since Tuesday, obviously taking all the necessarily precautions to avoid any risk of picking up an infection,

many thanks for the message David they are all very much appreciated,  

have a good weekend and best wishes.

Sounds like you will sail through this treatment.  1 down, 5 to go.  David

I can live in hope David and thanks. 

I am no Oracle or legend, just someone trying to make the journey easier for others and will always defer to the medical experts. My background was in research and development so enjoy finding out 'why' which is getting me a reputation as a nerd - but I have been called worse.

If you are feeling up to it then going out with your daughter is a good idea. Also she might feel she is doing something for you if you ask her to prepare a few light meals that you can put in the freezer and pull out when you don't feel like cooking.

Decaf coffee is gentler on the system.