If you don’t have time to read all of my blog postings, here is my list of tips for getting through chemotherapy.  Some of the tips I have received from healthcare professionals, some I have read about online, and others I have discovered through trial and error.

Obviously, we are all different and react in different ways to treatment, but the things listed below helped me and they might just help you too.

Medications:

• This seems really obvious, but I would suggest you make sure you take all your supporting medications exactly as prescribed. Still take the sickness drugs even if you don’t feel sick, especially before meals. I say this because I fell into the trap of thinking I didn’t feel so bad and then living to regret it two hours later when the sickness had got out of control.
• Avoid grapefruit as it can reduce the efficacy of antisickness (and other) medications.
• Stock up on over the counter medications like Gaviscon – your digestive system may take a battering and these medications can really help.

Diet and Supplements:

• If you are trying fasting for chemotherapy, consider my four principles to help you put together your plan. Avoid sugars including bread, potatoes and fruit, and focus your diet around bulky, low-calorie green vegetables and low calorie protein (like chicken and white fish). Do speak to your healthcare provider before starting of course – mine said they wanted me to do whatever I needed to do to get through this.
• Consider supplementing your diet with B vitamins and iron when your stomach feels settled enough between treatments. This will help replenish your red blood cells and immune system.
• Try recipes from the Royal Marsden Cancer Cookbook, avoiding recipes containing starch and sugar if you are fasting.
• Eat lots of turmeric, ginger, garlic and coloured vegetables as there is evidence that they contain elements that will help you fight the cancer. If you find turmeric, ginger and garlic becomes a bit harsh for your digestive system, do dial it back a bit.
• If you get to the point where tea and water tastes bad, try sugar-free fruit squash with ice cubes in it, or herbal teas.
• Black tea can be very acid forming for the stomach so try redbush or decaffeinated tea instead.
• Coffee may be unpalatable for you during treatment. If so, you might try a supplement such as Barleycup.
• Stay on top of your digestive system!  Some of the medications you are given might stop your digestive system from working properly. So… take extra fibre in the days before treatment and keep on taking those laxatives, whatever it takes to keep things a-movin’ on!

 Exercise:

• Whilst taking EC chemotherapy, try gentle yoga moves and floor exercises when your body feels up to it, but don’t strain. If it doesn’t feel right, you’re not ready to do it. Try to walk every day, if only round the block, if you feel up to it.  If walking seems too much, gentle housework will keep your body active.
• Whilst taking Taxol chemotherapy I have found exercise very hard and have been (and continue to be) fairly immobile throughout treatment. I did try to do a little bit of jogging and walking between treatments but the pain caused by Taxol got worse, so I’ve had to reduce my expectations of what I can do whilst taking and recovering from this drug. You will find your limits, but don’t be disappointed if you lose a bit of fitness whilst taking this medication.

Complementary Therapy:

• I found acupuncture enormously therapeutic. I left it until very late in my treatment plan and wish I had tried it sooner.
• If you are having Taxol treatment, I would suggest avoiding reflexology. Under normal circumstances I would really enjoy this treatment, but I think it made the Taxol pain in my feet and legs worse.
• Aromatherapy massage was very relaxing with no noticeable side effects. I was lucky enough to receive a massage at my hospital and it was great to receive such a nurturing therapy after the harsh chemotherapy treatments.
• I found Alexander Technique enormously helpful in managing stress and anxiety.

Mind:

• Investigate the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn. His no nonsense and medical approach to meditation to help people through stress and illness has been enormously helpful to me.
• If you are feeling lousy, try doing a ‘body scan’ where you focus on each part of your body individually noting how it feels. In places there will be pain or sickness, but many other parts of the body will feel fine. Try to focus on the ‘fine’ feeling as much as you can and try to ‘zone out’ the ill feelings. Easier said than done, but I find that, with practice, it helps calm the mind and body.
• Try my PLANNTB meditation technique to help you develop the right attitude to meditate. Based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, I find this quickly helps me zone out and relax.
• And finally, sleep! Listen to your body and rest when you need to…

So, that’s it for now.

For friends and family, I hope this blog has been a useful way of staying up-to-date with what has been going on.

For those of you facing the daunting prospect of chemotherapy and are wondering whether fasting might work for you, I hope you found some useful information on these pages.

For me, knowing that people might be expecting to read something here each week has provided me with an extra incentive to get through what has been an enormously challenging time. Writing this blog and receiving your comments has helped me see the positives where perhaps they might not have been if I was doing this without you.

Thank you.

Della x

Fasting for Chemo – Does it Work?

Of course, we won’t know for sure whether it works or not without randomised clinical trials, so I can only speak from my own experience and, whilst I have been through some deeply unpleasant times, I do feel as though it could have been worse. To give you an idea…

• Infection is common as the immune system is weakened by the chemotherapy. I have not had any infections throughout treatment and my temperature has remained normal;
• Anaemia is a common side effect as red blood cells drop. My red blood cells have dropped from 4.81 to 3.62, and haemoglobin has dropped from 155 to 114, but not to the extent that a transfusion is needed or treatment postponed;
• Nails often become discoloured or brittle. My nails have weirdly never been healthier;
• It is common for skin on the fingertips to become dry and cracked during treatment. I have experienced a very mild version of this (a slight drying of the skin) after some treatments, but it has lasted only 1-2 days with no cracking;
• Whilst my hair has fallen out, my brows and eyelashes have been very slow to start falling out and have only recently become noticeably thin;
• My digestive system has been noticeably better when I have fasted for longer. In particular the sense of internal disintegration (caused by acid) appears to reduce whilst fasting.
• Nosebleeds are a very common side effect. I have had three minor nosebleeds in total across the 8 treatments.
• Mouth pain is common and you are given bottles of mouthwash to help reduce this side effect. On just one occasion I had mouth pain that required painkillers to eat;
• People often report a metallic taste in the mouth and tainted taste buds. For the first few days after treatment food and drink does not taste quite right to me, but I have not experienced a metallic taste and I have been able to enjoy food to a greater or lesser extent during each treatment;
• Whilst there is no avoiding the nausea caused by EC chemotherapy immediately following treatment, careful management of the digestive system (see Principle 2, below) can help manage this symptom;
• I have found that fatigue has crept up on me as treatment has progressed.On September 23rd I posted three emerging principles of Fasting for Chemo based on my own personal experience during EC chemotherapy. I said I would continue to test these principles whilst receiving Taxol infusions and, on reflection, I have added in one more principle.  So, my four Fasting for Chemo Principles, developed whilst writing this blog, are:

My Four Principles of Fasting for Chemo

1. 350 calories-a-day for six days (2 days before and 4 days after treatment)
2. Take care of your digestive system
3. Break fast by eating little and often
4. Whilst breaking fast, watch for warning signs

Principle 1: 350 calories-a-day for six days

Using scientific papers to inform my approach, I have been fasting for two days prior to each chemotherapy treatment and for four days afterwards. The two days before treatment allows the body sufficient time to enter into a state of ketosis, which allows cells to ‘hide’ from the damaging effects of the chemotherapy. The four days after treatment allows time for as much of the chemotherapy agent as possible to leave the body, without having a detrimental impact on your overall health.

Whilst on both Taxol and EC chemotherapy I tried slightly relaxing the duration of the fast and experienced more negative side effects to the digestive system. Specifically, I found that by breaking fast earlier when there is more chemotherapy agent in my body, my digestive tract became much more acidic and I experienced a sense of ‘internal disintegration’. Whilst correlation is not causation, I remain convinced that this unpleasant sensation improved when I fasted for longer.

Principle 2: Take care of your digestive system

This seems like an obvious thing, but I cannot stress enough the importance of following the instructions your medical team give you in relation to taking care of your digestive system! In short (and I will spare you the details…!), the sooner you excrete the chemotherapy drugs from your body the better you will feel.  So… pad out your diet with as much low calorie fibre as possible (celery, spinach, cucumber), throw in supplements like Fybogel and Silicol Gel, then take everything the hospital gives you to keep things moving!

Principle 3: Break fast by eating little and often

This was particularly important for EC chemotherapy because even four days after treatment there is still a considerable amount of the medication in your body, so it’s a matter of eating small amounts and waiting to see if there is a negative reaction. After six days fasting my body is usually craving carbohydrate, but go easy if you can, especially at first, because you don’t want to flood your system with sugar and overstimulate your cells if there is still chemotherapy in your body.

Principle 4: Watch for warning signs

Once I have broken fast and am eating little and often, I find it’s best to wait 1-1.5 hours after eating to see how my body responds. If I feel nauseous, acidic or deeply fatigued, I know I have probably eaten too much too soon and will wait a while before trying again. I gradually build my diet up from full fast in this way, and try not to be disappointed if I have to take one step back to take two steps forward.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. If you or someone who care for is going through cancer treatment, I wish you all the very best.

Della x

Disclaimer:

The information contained in this post or any other post on this blog is based on personal experience and should not be viewed in any way as medical or other advice. If you are considering fasting for chemo, please consult your healthcare provider.

Copyright © 2015 Johnson