Cancer SUCKS! In May, I lost someone I loved very much to colon cancer. She was diagnosed 5 years earlier and over that time, she did a lot of chemo.
The chemo made her sick to her stomach all the time. She had a constant battle with food. If her stomach could handle it, the sores on her mouth flared up. If her mouth was fine, her stomach got upset. Round and round we went. On top of it all, she became lactose intolerant which completely eliminated some foods.
Over the course of 5 years, we discovered some foods that some people may not think about or know exist. I hope that maybe this will help someone because we all need food to stay strong.
*Lactose free milk. Available at most grocery stores. It is a bit pricier than regular milk but it is worth it.
*Lactose free yogurt. This was very difficult to locate in my area. We were convinced that it did not exist but the doctor said she needed yogurt. After some online research, I located it at Whole Foods. It is Continental brand but you have to make sure that you get the one marked lactose free.
*A juicer. Sometimes the solid fruits did not agree with her stomach, especially right after chemo. making a small glass of fresh juice with fruit and/ or veggies got her the vitamins she needed and was usually better on her stomach.
*Protein powder. This was a MUST. She could not drink it just mixed into milk, the taste was to chemical like for her altered taste buds. So we would mis it in the blender with a little bit of a banana, some milk and some ice. The powder was chocolate flavored and we bought it at Trader Joe's.
*English muffins. On chemo weeks, she was unable to eat these but on between times, a half an english muffin with a little bit of jam was mild enough eat and it gave her something solid.
*Peppermint tea. This helped a bit with nausea.
*Campbells soup. We always kept a couple of cans in the cupboard. Some days she could eat a bit of this. I usually looked for flavors containing chicken because the beef chunks were too much for her stomach.
*White rice.
*Mini bottled water. She was very prone to dehydration so she always needed water but the only water that did not taste like chemicals were bottles of water. She found that the 16 ounce bottles were too big and they would get warm before she could finish them. We tried putting half in the fridge but she thought they tasted funny if opened. So i discovered mini bottles. Not only were they the perfect size but as she got weaker, they were not to heavy. Yes, not the most cost effective product but you do what works.
*boiled chicken. no salt.
If you make food for someone doing chemo, please keep in mind that they may be very sensitive to spice. What I mean by that is that little things like a pinch of salt or a dash of pepper could be way to much. Butter is too greasy. Do not make the item with yourself in mind.
