Hello,
my mother has just has bowel surgery for cancer and is waiting to find out whether she will need chemo. Although she fells mentally prepared she doesn't feel her body is ready for chemo. She is on a restrictive low fibre diet (she has had a r hemicolectomy) and feels she needs 'healing foods' but much of what she would normally go for is on the avoid list. I know this is a bit specific but any suggestions or pointers to more info would be brilliant.
OK. That came from nowhere!
My mum will make a decision about whether she wants to have chemo once she has all the facts. She wants to get herself in the best physical shape she can after having major abdominal surgery. All I'm asking is whether anyone has any advice that actually fits in with the restrictions she is already facing because of the nature of the surgery.
I don't pretend to be a nutritionist, and I don't know much about what dietary restrictions your mother is up against, but I've been told that 'eating a rainbow', i.e. eating a plate of food with different colours (orange peppers, red carrots, green courgettes, purple beetroot etc.) is a good way of getting a variety of vitamins & minerals.
Have you seen the 'eatwell plate'?
Thanks Judith,
it also makes you want to eat it if it looks beautiful! Yes, I know about the eatwell plate, I think the difficulty is having to recover from surgery (with a potential imperative to do it quickly) and learning how her new differently shaped bowel copes with the foods she would choose to eat. I think that although I'm looking for a quick fix she really does have to try things out for herself and find a new way of eating.
Thanks for your suggestion
I am no expert on cancer - except for what I have witnessed with my Sister in law who survived Stage 4 lung Cancer for 18 months before succumbing to it. Stage 4 cancer is a secondary metastised cancer which has left the primary site and travelled elsewhere within the body. As far as I understand , it is incurable and Chemotherapy can only slow it down for an unspecified time . It sounds to me like your mother has been treated for a primary cancer ( of the bowel) which has not metasticised?? Chemotherapy can kill any cancer cells left remaining after surgery - but in the act of killing cancer cells it also stops the renewal of other body cells like hair and lining of the mouth. For that reason, I have decided that if I ever contract a form of cancer, I will have chemo if it is a primary cancer - but will not have it if my first indication of cancer comes after it has metasticised into a secondary cancer. All dependent of course on what the Oncologist says at that time. Treatments do vary depending on the person and the kind of cancer.
As for healthy foods - I guess your mother is on an "avoid" list because of the operation on her bowel? - but I would have thought that she must also have been given advice on what she can eat???
Sorry, but people claim they have been cured of cancer by doing all sorts of things. I work in clinical research and don't really find that kind of anecdotal story very useful. It's really interesting how very few people actually answer the question I've posed. I wonder if that's because I haven't phrased it very clearly or if we just all need to say what we need to say whatever the question. I'm not complaining, I find it interesting.
sistersukes...smoothies, smoothies and more smoothies. Cancer likes sugar. Eat low sugar, good fats....avocadoes daily, coconut milk, coconut oil . No dairy, no gluten, no grains, no pasta. Look up benefits of herbs, rosemary, thyme, sage. Veggies, no night shades. i also heard putting oils on your body will help. Castor oil as a carrier, and rose hip oil on the skin near where surgery is going to be. Peppermint oil, lavender oil for calming. Use oils constantly. I heard of a woman using oils through chemo, and it kept her bloods good and kept her strong.
Keep stress low if possible so the body can stay strong through treatment.
Sending prayers to your mom and you.
That's interesting as there is more and more suggestion that as we have long suspected it is sugar and not fat that is the big issue in our diets. She doesn't really have an excess of body fat to lose especially as it's important now to help her build strength on preparation for the potential side effects of chemo.
Any ideas about eating more healthy foods?
Whole foods plant based diet
Keeping electrolytes up while getting chemo
Hello, I'm interested in eating Healthier foods . . .
