Chemo and food anybody got any suggestions?????

Question

My husband has lung and bone cancer has had about 6 chemo treatments now he is having a hard time eating food taste nasty like metal he has tryed eating with plastic spoons/forks it helps! but still cant find anything he wants to eat anybody got any suggestions????or recipes??

Answer 1

I've gone through chemo treatments three different times over the course of the last five years, and each time I craved something different. My first bout, all I wanted was fried chicken. Made me sick, but I still wanted it! The second time out, the chemo was much stronger, but I found plain old canned chicken noodle soup (the cheap stuff--not the "extra chunky with vegetables" type) stayed down pretty well. The third time the chemo was only strong enough to prepare me for a "mini" bone marrow transplant, and not as hard-core as anything else I've seen. So anything went! It's highly individual, however. If he's having that terrible, metallic, taste in his mouth all the time (not just when eating regular meals), try him on jello and puddings. Try keeping hard candies around for him to suck on (this really does help--my personal favorite were those hard root beer barrels). You can also add some flavor to otherwise bland foods, such as putting a small shake of Mrs. Dash on mashed potatoes. If he's not eating very much, try getting some milkshakes and yogurt smoothies for him to drink--they're empty calories, yes, but it helps to keep him from losing weight rapidly.

It really does involve experimenting to see what he agrees with. Once you find something, make a note of it so that it can become part of his meal planning (with so much else on both of your minds, it's amazing what you can forget if you don't write it down).

One little note, though: You might want to save his favorite foods until after the treatments are over with. They won't taste the same while he's on chemo, and if he gets sick on them, the memory will linger. I used my time under treatments for experimenting with foods I'd otherwise not eat often. I'm not saying feed him stuff he hates... but think of things that he normally would eat--he just didn't get them often. If it has a huge variety of flavors, so much the better. And get him drinking! Try some of the flavored drinks that are mostly water, such as Propel, Gatoraid, and sugar-free Coolaid. Crystal Light makes some good drinks, too. The extra fluid will help during the treatments, since they keep the chemo agents dilluted in the kidneys and bladder--not to mention keeping his system flushed. It'll also help rehydrate him in the event that he gets diarreha, and even help if the opposite (constipation) happens. I can't stress fluids enough.

The rest depends on his situation. If he's dropping weight, try baking him some cookies to nibble on throughout the day, and try to get him to drink some of his calories (it's easier on the stomach, and less miserable to vomit if he just can't keep it down, than larger solid meals). A trip down your local store's nutritional isle will lead you to many weight-gainer and protein shake mixes that are ideal for this. Ensure can also sometimes be bought through your hospital at a discount, so ask about this (it's a nutritional shake meant for seniors, but has its uses if eating's tough).

Good luck to the both of you, and bless you for trying to find ways of making this whole process easier on him. I truly wish the best for you both.

Answer 2

I would recommend a book called "What to Eat When You Don't Feel Like Eating" by James Haller. It's a pretty old book, but a good one. Someone gave it to me when I was going through chemo and it helped a lot. The ISBN number is 0889995583. I checked Barnes & Noble for you and unfortunately, they don't have it in stock. Maybe contact the American Cancer Society in your area.

I ate sherbert when I really didn't want anything. I don't think there is a guaranteed solution other than to keep trying to find something that will work for him. I'm glad you are reaching out for help, because I think that's very important.

I did find a website that has some good information. I'll put it in the source box below. I wouldn't try any specific recipies, but only because the more complex a food is, the greater the chances are that it will nauseate him. Liquids may be a good option for him, plus that will keep him well hydrated.

I hope you get a lot of good suggestions here on Yahoo answers. I wish I could find out where you could get that book because I think that would help a lot. I know my public library has a copy because I just checked on their website, and so does the hospital, so that might be another option. Good luck in your search and tell your husband I'm thinking about him.

Answer 3

I had this problem too. Try foods that are tomato based. If he doesn't have any mouth sores spicy foods might help to hide the taste. Truthfully, though, for about a week after a treatment everything tasted like metal.
Do try to pack as many calories in his food as possible as he is eating small amounts. Milkshakes, adding protein powder to recipes, cooking all the high fat things he hasn't had in years.
I did find that brushing my teeth frequently helped. And drinking lots of fluids (even though they taste bad) will help flush out the chemicals quicker. He might want to try sucking on Altoids or strong mints or candy.
Hope all goes well with him. God Bless.

Answer 4

when my fiance was going through chemo he said everything tasted like he was sucking on a penny so we tried all his fav foods and found that he like mc donalds cheese burgers and his moms cheese cake were about the only 2 thinsg that he said were tolerable to keep down.. it really depends on the person the metallic taste is just a luxory of the chemo.. if he's willing to eat get him anything and everything that he wants.. i wish u and ur husband the best

Answer 5

Are you in a state that allows medical marijuana? I have heard it helps chemo patients have a better appetite. A person in my family had to have chemo and she made a tea from marijuana and that helped her. She tried smoking but didn't like it. She is in her 80's and said it helped. By the way, she has been cured and I hope your husband can say the same thing soon.

Answer 6

My dad went through this stage, and for him we never really found anything that didnt taste like metal to him, I think it is the kemo. One of the best things he did like, that was the least metalic to him was potatos, mashed, baked etc. Good luck and God Bless U and your Family!

Answer 7

try over easy eggs, that was about the only thing that didnt taste funny to me. i added lots of pepper. good luck.