Eating on Taxotere....Is It Possible to Enjoy Food?

[Darryl]

How Can you Still Enjoy Food While on Chemotherapy for prostate cancer

[JoelT]

There are different things you can do to better manage your eating while on Chemotherapy:

1- When it is hard to eat, don’t push it. Instead, drink a liquid or powdered meal replacement.

2- It is easier to eat 5 or 6 small meals each day instead of 3 large meals. At each of the meals you can eat smaller amounts so that you don’t need to force the issue and make yourself feel bad.

3- Keep snacks nearby for when you feel like eating. When you go out of the house take easy to carry snacks like peanut butter crackers, nuts, power bars etc. with you.

4- Try and add extra protein and calories to your diet when you are able to eat.

5- Even if you don’t want to eat, drink liquids throughout the day. Carry a water bottle and put a sugared flavor into the water to increase the calories. Better yet, you can also carry juice or even soup when you go out.

6- Don’t forget to have a at a bedtime snack. This will not dampen your appetite the next day.

7- Soft, cool, or frozen foods make a lot of sense while on chemotherapy. Included in this list are ice cream, milk shakes, smoothies and yogurt.

Chemotherapy can change your taste and smell for foods. Find those foods that are not unpleasant. Don't worry if your diet choices become restricted.

Marinate your meats to add flavor. Tart and sweet foods are tastier, so add oranges, lemons and sugar to foods.

If you develop the classic “metal taste” use plastic silverware.

[chef_ryan_callahan in reply to JoelT]

Joel hit the list right on the head.

I would also add a few things that I would recommend from a chef's perspective and from being a caregiver:

-Add Italian flat leaf parsley, basil, cilantro, or citrus juices at the end of cooking or on top of a dish to cleanse the palate in between each bite.

-Add red wine vinegar to your dishes when cooking. A little bit goes a long way to not only cleanse your mouth of the metallic tastes but to lighten the dish as well. This will allow you to eat more. (Add 2 tbsp red wine vinegar followed by equal parts sugar) The sugar masks the vinegar smell and taste but still allows the vinegar to work its magic.

If anyone wants more in depth info, you can message me your questions or comment here. I also have my website in my profile bio.

[CERICWIN in reply to JoelT]

I'm not on chemo, but on Xtandi, Xgeva and Avodart, plus a host of other meds.

Food tastes like cardboard. I have frequent nausea and sometimes it's almost impossible to eat. I also have a lot of opiod-induced constipation, which makes me almost fear eating because of the unpleasant consequences of both the nausea and constipation. I've lost so much weight and muscle mass, and a devastating bout with the flu caused my weight to sink to 119 pounds. I've had to force myself to eat more, and have clawed my way back up to 126 pounds as of this morning.

Ondansetron has really helped me with the nausea, most of the time.

CERICWIN (Eric, to my friends)