Help please

Hi

I started chemotherapy on Monday for breast cancer and wondered if anyone has got any good tips to get through it please. I have felt terribly sick and am trying to drink a lot

Thanks

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  • Hi Coxy1964. 
    sorry to hear about your diagnosis. 
    Whilst I’ve not had chemo for breast cancer I’ve had 10 sessions of various chemo treatments  over the last 2 years for non Hodgkin’s lymphoma. 

    Some of the time I was ok whilst others I did really go off certain foods. I felt nauseous before I ate anything. However, I did find the following made things more tolerable. 

    it’s your first session so you may find that it gets easier. I found certain foods set me off.  It was the smell of cooking as well  so my husband had to learn to cook fast.!!!  Mash potato with gravy and meat cut really small and very tender. 
    I found that eating small portions and snacks over the course of the day helped … an apple and small pieces of cheese were my favourite thing … healthy soups ( watch the salt) I was ok with white bread but not brown … ate crumpets or toast and Dairy Lea  … plus eating nuts and raisins, boiled egg or tuna sandwich but has to be with mayo or  salad cream. I could eat a small curry with some rice and yoghurt with berries … there were foods I just couldn’t bring myself to eat at times. I drank lots of milk as well … full fat organic seemed to work. Oranges and grapefruit … grapes  ( might need to check as if I remember rightly some chemos have restricted goods .. I was on the pregnancy diet so couldn’t eat my favourite seafood.) 
    Plus drink lots of water it really is important to stay hydrated. I aimed for 2 litres a day. Some days it’s harder than others but I found getting up in the morning instead of drinking my usual cuppa I drank a big glass of water or hot water and lemon slice. It kicked off being hydrated and I could enjoy a cup of tea afterwards. Some people drank ginger ale or crystallised ginger which I do love but I went off of it. 
    When you go for your next round your team will capture symptoms such as sickness ( work keeping a record of) there are lots of medications to combat sickness. 

    I found it all trial an error … I highly recommend getting out walking each day if you can only walk for 10 minutes it makes a big difference even walking round the block or your garden. Clears your mind and blows the cobwebs out! 

    I’ve been in remission for 11 months now … the journey is hard at times but you will meet some amazing people along the way and before you know it spring and summer will arrive and you will be in a better place and all fixed up. 

    Xx 

  • Thank you so much for your reply so nice of you.

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