When can I start eating salads, soft cheese and the like?
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in February this year, surgery in March (lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy), more surgery in April (axillary clearance - 32 nodes in total), chemo started beginnin...
We were told similar when my husband was going thru chemo - it related more to infection control than anything else, as getting infections whilst having chemo can be really nasty, even lethal, if not treated quickly. eg salmonella poisoning, clostridium botulinum (found in soil & on plants) and clostridium difficile (a gut bug) in particular - either from food or other sources. Ordinary antibiotics often don't fix them - they need a special antibiotic regime to get rid of them, so need stool samples sent to identify the particular bug & which treatment is needed.
We were advised not to eat any undercooked food (fish or chicken in particular) or 'raw cheeses' like some of the soft cheeses .... and to make sure all veg were either peeled or washed well, to avoid bacteria entering his system & making him ill whilst his resistance was low. Sadly, he did have one nasty infection & ended up in hospital. :(
The spicy food gave you some hassles, so wisely, you've taken them off the menu for the time being ;) But you'll be able to reintroduce them once you've finished your chemo - it may just take time to build up to the 'strength' you used to enjoy.
If you start getting the Trots or develop a temperature, get checked out asap - tho most gastrostop or similar meds should fix the Trots ..... you don't want a midnight flit to the Emergency Dept!!
take care & all the best for your ongoing treatments xx
