well, I have a question, after you got diagnosed with ovarian cancer, did you stop eating junk food right away? did you start to eat really healthy and had less sugar and carbs? I tried to eat a salad yesterday, well atleast a healthier salad without the fatty dressing that I love, I had spring mix with olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper, It was horrible for me, I was gagging the whole time but I still finished it, my eyes were teary after 😂 maybe I just don't like the olive oil 😝
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hgeroka16
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I've always eaten a fairly well balanced diet to be honest, my diagnosis didn't change that, however, the chemo did, I just craved sugary and salty foods which was probably due to the changes in taste buds and diabolical chemical/metallic taste from the chemo. I wouldn't try to make yourself eat stuff that makes your eyes water, we've enough to deal with during treatment and nice foods help us get through it a little bit. Good luck with your treatment ❤️X
Hi, I'll bet everyone has a different answer to this. After a few weeks of chemo, I was so nauseated I could eat very little. Baked potatoes and rice pudding by the end. At first I ate as I usually did, but that metallic taste doesn't improve anything. Best wishes, be strong, Nesie 237
Buy dried beans & cook yourself to add to salad with eggs, smoked mackerel or salmon, tiny new potatoes & cherry tomatoes, grapes, toasted cashews walnuts & seeds, flakes of tuna, fine chopped cucumber, Parmesan, chopped broccoli & cauli, apple.
Any combo of above with cider vinegar. Buy artichoke hearts, delicious, in a jar & use them & their oil. U will work out combos u like but stick with it.
I am a year NED, please may it last, but still have nausea sometimes when faced with certain foods.
Hi, I made the decision to cut out dairy and use soya milk at home, although I have since reads lot against soya!! I used to eat huge quantities of cheese as I am a vegetarian and that has gone too. When I eat out I am not so fussy as it became too difficult.
I also cut right down on processed sugar but occasionally get a craving and devour a family bag of m&m's!
For me, junk food means something like over processed, fried, carb heavy, sugar heavy, low animal welfare meat.......... Often eaten on the hoof without thinking about it, on your own, or picked up ready prepared with no cooking. Feeding a bodily need which it stimulates so you always want more of it.
The alternative doesn't have to be salad. Or expensive. Markets, ethnic shops and greengrocers are good places to get small quantities of a range of different vegetables. Beautiful roots at this time of year. Roasting and stir frying doesn't have to use a lot of fat. Try a tasteless oil like rapeseed if you don't like olive. Less meat but better quality. Beautiful homemade soups.
I think many of us do change our diet as a response to the shock of getting cancer because it is something that can be controlled in a world that seems beyond our control. However I wouldn't eat things you are not enjoying! Comfort eating can be healthy eating if you don't eat too much and choose fresh fruit and veg.
But don't stress..eat joyfully if you can xx L
Hello,
I think life is hard enough during treatment and when you are feeling a little low to start completely overhauling your diet. Maybe try a few little positive changes if you feel you rely too much on processed food.
I find my taste buds dictate far more of what I eat now as I just can't face some food.
I normally love salad but have struggled during chemo as I just want carbs.
Hi. Looking down the list you've had a lot of different answers already which I think reflects just how complex this is. Everyone will have a different view on this.
I was underweight at diagnosis and having had loss of appetite for months was astounded by the appetite that flowed through me post debulking surgery. I took great pleasure in it and ate to put weight back on. This included full fat stuff and sugar. After about 4 months I had arrived at an acceptable weight. I did not qualify for any therapies other than surgery so didn't have the same issues some people have had with chemo tummy/appetite. So in that respect I was lucky that I could then look at my diet and change it. I have done that gradually.
I thought I had eaten fairly healthily before, but I did have a soft spot for sugar. So my main change was dropping sugar. After a few days of headache and lethargy I felt significantly better and haven't dropped back into the bad sugar habits. I have, however, been know to go out for coffee and a cake occasionally. But it's very difficult to live life without occasionally having something you're 'not meant to eat'. Our society is such that if you didn't occasionally eat bad stuff you just wouldn't leave the house and interact with other people!
I recently reviewed a cookery book for Macmillan and was astounded to find that I still wasn't eating a totally healthy diet if I followed the guidance in the book. So I've changed my diet again and again I can feel the benefit. I eat more fruit and veg now than I ever have and I really enjoy it.
That's absolutely key though - I feel the benefit and I am enjoying eating those things. If I didn't then I'd have to raise the question of whether it is really worth it. I once said that if I could only eat mung beans for the rest of my life I'd take the shorter route and eat what I wanted instead. I've said all along that for me it's about quality of life. Having never had an appetite like this before in my entire life I am appreciating the value of it.
For me, trying to eat a healthy diet is worth it. I have a rare type of OC. It's advanced and it couldn't all be removed by surgery, but also won't respond to other known treatments. For me, changing my diet is worth the effort, because there's not an awful lot of other things that I can do.
BUT, that loss of appetite was awful and I doubt that I'd feel that I could put the same effort into my nutrition when I felt like that. Eating any food was a bonus at that point. I have found that people who haven't experienced loss of appetite just don't get it. My dad is currently experiencing loss of appetite and has weight loss. Everyone except me is trying to make helpful solutions about how he should eat healthily and constantly telling him he needs to eat more. I just told him to eat what he can and make sure it was full fat, full sugar and easy to chew and swallow. So far I'm the only person he's listened to because he heard what I said and realised I'm coming at it from experience. But trying to explain to people that it's not just a lack of desire to eat is really hard. People don't get the full effect of what that means unless they've been through it. Had you put a salad in front of me pre surgery I'd have pushed it away. Currently I find a nicely prepared salad really tasty. Though less so as we go into winter (another point you may want to consider - move to soup instead of salad as it's the wrong weather for salad anyway!!!).
I suppose my point is that it's different for all of us, and even can be different depending on where you are in your diagnosis/treatment/recovery. Don't gauge yourself against other people. Try to listen to your own body as to what it's asking for.
thanks for the replies! I mean, I ate fairly healthy stuff before the diagnosis, although I was big on chips. I wasn't really a sugar eater but after my surgery I was too skinny, literally skin and bones for not having appetite for 6 months before Dx, after the surgery I had such a biiiig craving for sweets and salty food, I don't think my tastebuds changed yet, but I was craving more sweet and junk now more than ever, I try not to give in though, Plus, I started brisk walking/jogging 3 miles per day, I was wondering if I do that and only eat veggies and fruits, will It be alright, I don't want to pass out in the gym or somewhere, I don't really eat a lot nowadays, and I'm really trying to get rid of sugars and carbs, and unhealthy fats too. I want to try doing an alkaline diet, I've been reading good stuff about it, but the worst part for me is quitting coffee and the fatty dressing that I like
You've already been given some great advice. I'm sure also, you should have access to a Nutritionist if you perhaps speak to your medical team? They may be able to also help you to ensure you are taken on board enough of the right things to maintain a healthy weight and get all the nutrients you need. Nutrition is a very personal thing, but if you can eat good, wholesome, non-processed foods MOST of the time, you're onto a winner x
I was very overweight at diagnosis and lost 67 lbs during chemo. After that, my appetite went nuts! I confess, so did I. I eat a very healthy diet now with salads and Salmon as the main feature but I also am fighting a raging sweet tooth. I was never liking sugar before diagnosis. Sugar made me physically I'll. So really weird that this is happening. I feel like a crack addict that has to have his fix. I have read how to stop it, so I just need to take a week and tie my hands and tape my mouth.
me too 😭 It gets super crazy, I told my sister to NEVER show me chocolates and sweets and NEVER to ask me if I want one because when start to eat one I'll end up eating everything 😭 I've never been like this before in my life with sweets
Hi Ladies, my answer is everything in moderation, you can enjoy eating and have a treat now and again. Again its just what I fancy to be honest with you all. My diet would be fairly healthy. I have added yogurts as advised by my Rheumatologist, I dont like them but I need them for my bones.
I went to wholefoods today, and got organic stuff and those anti cancer spices, I was so surprised when the cashier told me the total is $209,now I'm so broke, lol, I will make sure to eat those 😂
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