Hi all,We have our first dose-dense AC treatment this Friday for Rebecca and while we're really glad to have some sense of momentum and control now with the treatment plan, I'm trying to get organised this week with meals and am a little out of my depth as to what to expect. Normally we'd write a meal plan for the week, pre-order the ingredients for those meals and basically just roll with it, however with chemo coming up, we're not 100% sure if that's going to work any more, especially with changes in taste and appetite. Our plan is to try and stick to the routine as much as possible and keep meals as healthy and varied as we can to ensure good nutrition and healing, but obviously will have to test and adjust as we work through side-effects etc. I've done some research and it seems like a lot of websites are suggesting sticking with somewhat normal meals, but maybe just a bit blander / different in texture. Other sites say do more regular, smaller snack-type meals, so maybe a mix of both?I'd really appreciate any tips you might have with regards planning for meals etc, particularly during the first few days of treatment.Thanks :)George

byo_boy With regards the Exercise Physio, I had a bit of a whinge at Rebecca's GP yesterday because they have basically refused to give her a referral or Care Plan without a consult - they are 35 minutes away and I'm loathe to have Bec sat in a waiting room for 45 minutes with snotty kids etc so that her GP of 20+ years can "see her" and "discussGeorge GeorgeA GP is required to do a Care Plan in a Consultation processhttps://www.medicaldirector.com/news/clinical-practice/how-gp-care-plans-benefit-patients/I suggest you make the appointment, when it's time, you go in to see how many are before your appointment to reduce the waiting time in the rooms.

Hi to you both and good luck with chemo. When I was on AC chemo, I more or less lost my sense of taste...well not lost, perhaps more changed would be a better word. My mouth tasted like an old, wet dog smells and most foods just tasted like boiled cardboard. I went totally off chocolate and also coffee. I developed a liking for salt and vinegar chips as the sharp and salty taste seemed to get through the wet dog. I had problems with mouth ulcers and found that acidic foods such as tomato, orange juice, pineapple and the like, burned my mouth. I found the lemonade icy poles really good to numb my mouth before eating, and again, the slightly tart taste made my mouth feel fresher. Each person has different experiences, and as a dietician(from a large Sydney hospital) told me, "If you can eat it...eat it...you can worry about 'healthy choices' after chemo."

Hello. You will get lots of different responses on this so you might just have to play it by ear the first week or soi didn’t lose my taste or appetite on chemo and had no nausea or trouble with mouth ulcers so I was able to eat and drink normally with a few exceptions, some foods gave me indigestion, mainly richer foods like creamy sauces ect but that was easy managed with quickeezeThe day of chemotherapy I usually wasn’t very hungry and just had smaller serves, like Allyjay I found salty foods went down really well and even a bit of takeaway like fish and chips seemed to help me feel better We still just did our weekly meal plan and shop and most nights I was ok to cook or help cookHome Delivery of groceries was very handy and also having a few meals in the freezer for nights when we couldn’t be bothered cooking Having 3 kids that obviously still needed to eat we found just keeping the regular routine worked and if I didn’t feel like dinner I just popped my serving in the fridge for the next day. I struggle to drink enough water so I found icypoles and cordial kept me hydratedBest of luck

Hi George,For me, the side effects of AC kicks in around the 5-7 day. It got worse after each chemo treatment as the effects are cumulative. Rebecca’s taste bud is not likely to change dramatically after the first chemo. So hopefully, it is safe to stick to your normal meal planning routine for the first treatment. Subsequent meals planning may likely be challenging as taste buds change. Also on two or three occasions, I spotted ulcers. I was able to ‘catch’ the ulcers before they become full blown ulcers and applied Kenalog as soon as I spotted the ulcers developing. During AC, the nurse had me sucked on icy poles throughout the treatment to minimise ulcers. I got the ulcers during Taxols (= Paclitaxel) as no icy poles were deemed necessary for Taxols.I engaged a BC dietitian during chemo. She recommended up protein intake ( plenty of chicken, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts and seeds). However, just like what Allyjay mentioned, if I was struggling with food, my dietitian wants me to eat food that makes me feel better /good and don’t worry about the ‘healthiness’ of foods during that period. On days where I absolutely didn’t want to eat, my dietitian had recommended for me to drink milo with milk. I know some ladies had a few small meals. I had my usual 3 meals(if I was up to eating) and snack in between with fruits or nuts. Breakfast was one meal which I didn’t skip though. If I wasn’t up to eating,my hubby will quickly whipped up a simple soup for me.Hope the above helps. All the best for the first treatment.

I kept most of my taste, and had no nausea on AC but totally went off coffee (which I love), it tasted musty. Dinner after chemo was always mash potatoe and veg. I seemed to crave lots of veg, and ate much more fish, lots of veggie stirfrys, and soup. My love of coffee returned when I switched to paclitaxel. Best wishes for Friday.

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