Calm before the storm
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
Study on Diet and Cognition after Cancer Treatment
For anyone who is interested, a small study of diet and cognitive function through University of SA...and if you have access to Wiley Online you can read the whole paper. The Perceived Relationship between Diet and Cognitive Function in Breast and Colorectal Cancer Survivors: A Qualitative Study - Summary of main findings – Aim The aim of this study was to identify what cancer survivors thought about the relationship between their diet and cognitive function, and, how their cancer-related cognitive changes have influenced their diet. Cognition could refer to any aspect of thinking including someone’s ability to think, their memory, to focus or concentrate on something, to respond or react to things, or to make decisions. We also looked at what kind of changes survivors made to their diet since being diagnosed with cancer, what survivors’ perceived as contributing to those changes, and what prevented them making changes to their diet. Methods Interviews were conducted with 15 cancer survivors. Thirteen participants were breast cancer survivors and two participants were colorectal cancer survivors. On average, survivors had been diagnosed with cancer 27 months before their interview. ‘Thematic analysis’ was used to identify the most common themes across all participants. Not all themes were applicable to all participants, nor were the main themes able to capture all the unique elements of survivors’ stories, however the most common themes are listed here. There was an abundance of interesting and rich data that participants shared; only the data relating to the main research questions are mentioned here. Results There were four common themes relating to how survivors perceived diet impacted their cognition: i) Directly (e.g. a healthy diet improves cognition and thinking and a worse diet makes it harder) ii) Indirectly (e.g. diet affects things like energy and tiredness, which in turn affect cognition and thinking) iii) No impact (e.g. diet doesn’t affect cognition or thinking) iv) Potentially (e.g. survivors’ diet quality was generally good, but if they had poorer diet quality they believed their cognition would probably be worse) Three main themes emerged for how cancer-related cognitive changes impacted survivors’ diets: i) Meal planning was more difficult (e.g. it’s harder to think of what to cook, come up with menu plans and do the shopping) ii) The process of cooking became more challenging and more complex (e.g. it’s harder to follow recipes; it’s a greater effort to cook foods/meals that used to be easier) iii) It’s harder to say no to less healthy food (e.g. cognitive fatigue makes it harder to resist cravings; difficulties with meal planning leads to grabbing more convenient foods). For survivors who had made changes to their diet since being diagnosed with cancer (which had continued after active treatment stopped), there were four changes that were most common: i) Changes to meal timing (e.g. eating when they are hungry and not by the clock or to an external schedule) ii) Less overall variety (e.g. using less variety of ingredients in recipes, or using fewer types of recipes) iii) More plant-based food (e.g. introducing more vegetables and legumes) iv) Using more convenient food (e.g. using more frozen, jar, packet or ready-made meals). Survivors perceived four main causes of these dietary changes (in addition to those that perceived their cognitive changes also contributed to the changes): i) Persisting side-effects from treatment (e.g. fatigue, changes to sense of taste, gastrointestinal discomfort) ii) Persisting habits from treatment (e.g. avoiding foods that they weren’t able to eat when they were going through primary treatment) iii) Changes to work schedule (e.g. working less now meant greater flexibility with what and when they could eat) iv) Preventative health (e.g. avoiding possible negative outcomes of treatment). There were three main barriers that survivors experienced to making positive dietary changes i) Too much to think about (e.g. there’s a lot of other important things that need focussing on so diet can’t always be a priority) ii) Tiredness (e.g. feeling more fatigue means less energy to make dietary changes) iii) Other people’s needs (e.g. they prepare meals for family members and are limited by what foods can be enjoyed by the whole family). One paper has recently been published in the European Journal of Cancer Care, an academic journal that disseminates research worldwide relating to cancer patients and survivors, and cancer care (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecc.13303). We are currently preparing a second paper for publication, and are also recruiting for a related study. Conclusions Many participants perceived that their diet and cognition can impact one another in various ways. As this was a small study, more research is needed on how diet and cognition might affect one another in cancer survivors, before any specific recommendations can be made. However, initial findings from this study suggest that dietary assistance with meal planning and preparing, especially in ways that accommodate cognitive changes such as difficulty focussing and concentrating, memory challenges, and physical and mental tiredness, may be beneficial for those experiencing cognitive changes. While some of these findings may seem common-sense or expected, this is one of the first studies that has begun to look at these important issues in this way. More research can now build on these findings. This may include trialling different dietary plans to see if diet can improve cancer-related cognitive changes. It may also lead to the development of dietary resources that support people who have survived cancer with meal planning and cooking. We would like to thank all those involved in the project, especially the participants for sharing their stories and experiences. On behalf of the study team: Mr. Daniel Coro, Dr. Amanda Hutchinson, Prof. Siobhan Banks, & Prof. Alison Coates (Chief Investigator and project supervisor: Dr. Amanda Hutchinson; e: Amanda.hutchinson@unisa.edu.au; p: +61 8 8302 4468)
Pet scan found positive lymph node
Hi all, I just had all my pre chemo scans, all clear except PET scan found another positive lymph node. 6mm. I had 6 nodes removed with my lumpectomy 2 weeks ago and 2 came up positive and 4 were clear, but it seems there was another positive node left there. Has anyone else had experience with this? I start chemo tomorrow, will my treatment get it all? I’m worried. Did anyone change there diet to help prevent cancer? I read turmeric, grapes, cruciferous vegies and spirulina altogether is a great breast cancer fighting combo? Can anyone shed some light on this? TIA. X
What to Eat
Hi I haven’t been on for a while been struggling a bit and wasn’t able to handle anything negative so avoided online I have had my 3rd taxol and so far have been really lucky with side effects I am asking for some ideas of what to eat I think I’m being to paranoid about what I can and can’t eat and am getting sick of Chicken Stir Fry and Spaghetti Bolognaise does anybody have any good food ideas
Yummy mushy foods- do they exist?
Hi All, I’ve just finished my last round of dose dense AC and gearing up for next 4rounds of Taxol. I already have one Mouth ulcer that I just can’t budge, no amount of salt water, Kenalog and dental hygiene is healing it. Does anyone have any yummy or at least strong tasting, foods / recipes that they have found are easier to eat with a mouth ulcer? Thanks in advance 😊😊what now
what a year last year was , breast cancer in May , a month or so later diagnosed rheumatoid /osteoarthritis , shingles for xmas and now bad fatty liver , go see a dietician the doctor says so im on the list , in the mean time i'm trying to figure out what i can eat and what i cant , i was told soya milk is bad for those with breast cancer ??
Has anyone heard about the Keto diet helping to fight tumours?
Googling and reading today I came across information that a Ketogenic diet has been clinically proven to reduce squamous cell carcinomas- I don't think breast cancers are those, but is there any information on a Keto diet helping fight breast cancer? Anyone tried it?
