Nerlynx/neratinib and vegetarianism

knittingmywaythrough

I’m about to start a year of Nerlynx and I’ve been a vegetarian for more than 20 years. I eat a ton of beans, nuts and raw vegetables (got cancer anyway). These are all things the pharmacist and nurses recommends avoiding to help with diarrhea risk. I’m wondering if the fact that these are already such a part of my diet they might bother me less than someone who only occasionally eats them? Any vegetarians out there navigating this along with me have any experience? My team says it might help and not to change anything yet but I’d love to hear from others.
Thank you

moderators

Hi @knittingmywaythrough, and welcome to Breastcancer.org! Check your PMs for our previous message to you, but we also wanted to point you to this article. Though it pertains to metastatic breast cancer, the benefits of the vegetarian diet are outlined:

Study: Plant-Based Diet May Improve Health of Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer

We hope you find this interesting and that you connect with other vegetarians here who can weigh in with their experiences!

Let us know if there's anything else we can do to help.

—The Mods

knittingmywaythrough

Thank you for the link to the article.

laughinggull

Hi there,

I was on Nerlynx for a year and I also eat lots of vegetables and legumes, not vegetarian but I would say quasi-vegetarian. The D was a one-month problem. While it lasted, nothing I ate made a difference….everything went out quick the same way! For that month, I enjoyed unlimited bread and pasta, knowing I wouldnt gain any weight from it. After one month things, went back to normal. It was a normal year eating-wise, except for that first month.

LaughingGull

knittingmywaythrough

That’s good to hear. I’m 3 days in, clearly too early to tell anything, but so far so good. I’m living in slight fear of the bathroom. Every time I need to go I think, uh oh this could be it. I need to remember that I go several times a day normally and chill out a bit.