Come join others currently navigating treatment in our weekly Zoom Meetup! Register here: Tuesdays, 1pm ET.
Take our poll: Caregivers, what do you find most difficult about caregiving?
Weigh in: What are the best and worst gifts for people with breast cancer?

More Tips (and a Shopping List) for Getting Through Chemo

1…6264666768

Comments

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited May 2020

    A173 - thanks for your input.

  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,152
    edited May 2020

    Bumping . . .

  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,152
    edited June 2020

    bumping for Mary . . .

  • NWArtLady
    NWArtLady Member Posts: 239
    edited June 2020

    bumping with love

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited June 2020

    So I'll bump too just to keep this active

  • nopink2019
    nopink2019 Member Posts: 384
    edited June 2020

    I just ran across a recipe that a dear friend made for me when I was initially diagnosed and going through chemo the 1st time. I remember it as one of the most thoughtful gifts during chemo. In her memory, I wanted to share these 2 recipes for chemo popsicles. Tofu provides protein when nothing tastes good. Just blend and fill popsicle molds.

    MANGO-ORANGE: 4 oz orange juice, 8 oz mango pulp, 4 oz soft tofu, 1 Tbl honey

    RASPBERRY-BANANA: 4 oz raspberries, 1 banana, 4 oz orange juice, 4 oz soft tofu

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited June 2020

    nopink - great recipes. Thanks for sharing. Something cold in my mouth always felt good.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited June 2020

    bumping

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited June 2020

    And since the threads are moving so fast this afternoon - bumping again.

  • IsMe
    IsMe Member Posts: 17
    edited June 2020

    hi

    I have questions... if is better to exercise daily, but only shower hair once or twice week, will it cause more oil at scalp? When we should reduce washing hair after first chemo? I am using cool cap

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited June 2020

    I washed my hair once or twice a week until it started falling out not long after the 2nd infusion. Sorry, I didn't cold cap so I can't speak to that. If you're preparing for chemo, you should probably join the June chemo thread. Or even the May chemo thread. Either of those should have someone who knows.

    Do go to 'my profile' and put in your diagnosis & treatment plans to date so people responding will be able to give better answers.

  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,152
    edited June 2020

    Thank You ~ MinusTwo ~ for keeping this thread so active!

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited June 2020

    Nico - no, thank YOU. There are so many good tips that I hope can help some newbies.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2020

    Bumping for Iamloved

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2020

    Bumping just because there's so much good information

  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,152
    edited July 2020

    Bumping for Sheila . . .

  • IsMe
    IsMe Member Posts: 17
    edited July 2020

    what is the best advice to reduce diarrhoea? I had tworound chemo done and diarrhoea is the one if the main SE, it will thn cause fever if I didn't manage well.., now plan to plan ahead remedy for round 3..

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2020

    IsMe - If you read through even just the header of this thread, you will have seen this:

    Diarrhea
    • Imodium is good for stopping this
    • Key worry is dehydration, so keep drinking water!
    • Stay away from sugary things, as refined sugar can aggravate diarrhea
    • From a dietary perspective, you can try the BRAT diet: Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast

    The main danger is that you will be come dehydrated. I actually went in to the infusion center and had a full bag of saline infused in between each 3 week chemo treatment. I went on a BRAT diet - (see below). You can add plain boiled potatoes or plain crackers. If it got really bad, I took Imodium a couple of times - WITH the approval of my doctor. Do talk to your docs first since the addition of any drugs should be discussed & approved. It always stopped after the first week of 10 days. Edited to say - I still lost 60 pounds that I didn't need to lose.

    The BRAT diet is a bland-food diet that is often recommended for adults and children. BRAT stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce andToast. The BRAT diet can help you recover from an upset stomach or diarrhea for the following reasons: It includes "binding" foods.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2020

    IsMe - there's lots of discussion about diarrhea among those currently in chemo. Here's the link to July2020 chemo thread. I found it very useful to read & discuss what was happening with others at the same point in time. I also went back & read the month before.

    https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics...


  • IsMe
    IsMe Member Posts: 17
    edited July 2020

    MinusTwo-

    Thanks. Yes I read about these info. Took immodium, drink water and BRAT. And I practice all. I am just wondering if we know if it will happen on let’s say Day 4 after the infusion, are we able to reduce it if we do something ahead like one day 2 and 3 onward and it will help to reduce the quantity or frequency of diarrhea? Trying to figure out anyways to pre-plan so this will be less impact

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2020

    IsMe - check out the July 2020 Chemo link. It's good to compare with others currently going through the same things. And ask your doc what he will approve.

  • IsMe
    IsMe Member Posts: 17
    edited July 2020

    MinusTwo-

    Yes I will read from there as well. So far practicing few tips from this thread help me reduce alot of SE. Just for this diarrhea part seem only have steps to stop (Imodium etc) when it happen but we do not have steps to preplan ahead to reduce the impact. Will try out possible ways and ifit work for my round 3, I will share here as well

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited July 2020

    bumping for Melbo

  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,152
    edited August 2020

    Thank You, MinusTwo, for your dedication to this important thread!

  • Nico1012
    Nico1012 Member Posts: 1,152
    edited September 2020

    Bumping for Carol . . .

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited September 2020

    Hey Nico - Yes - this thread has sooooo much good information. I wouldn't have made it through without many of these tips.

    Sorry I forgot to bump last month to keep it active on the list for the new member. Maybe I'll remember twice in September.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited September 2020

    Bumping for Sara

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited September 2020

    Bumping again to keep active and for Denise.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited September 2020

    Bumping yet again to keep the thread active. SO many good tips.

  • minustwo
    minustwo Member Posts: 13,355
    edited September 2020

    Go for two days in a row? FIghtingMama found the surgery thread useful. So maybe this one too?

Categories

Join Us on Zoom: Upcoming virtual meetups. Read more...
Give your account some personality! Add a profile photo.