Any menu suggestions for someone going through chemo?

[OKWMom]

My Dad is undergoing chemo and like many others, complains of the metallic taste in his mouth. His nausea is under control with medication, but we can't seem to counteract his taste problems. He started chemo the first part of May and has already lost 46 pounds because he doesn't like the taste of most foods.

Does anyone have any suggestions of foods that still may taste "normal"? Or food combinations? Heck, I just want any suggestion you can give.

TIA

 

[cgrobin]

I didn't notice a chemical taste during chemo, but I seemed to taste mostly 'chemicals' in food.

Strong flavors were good, but not hot or acidic to hurt the mouth which could be tender.

Garlic...I lived on garlic and other strong tastes.

Pizza. I had frozen pizza in the house and added extra garlic and oregano. Extra cheese is good if the person will tolerate it. Mine kept coming out a little dry, and that was probably good for me.

Beware anything that looks, 'unappealing'. Pot pie, cottage cheese, Texture can play a big part. TV dinner type meals turned my stomach.

Chicken fingers with mustard or BBQ sauce. The taste of the chicken fingers was a bit 'okay' to me, but it was bland enough to be okay. One day I picked up Chicken parmagian at a local pizza shop. Try a few chicken fingers (or fried cutlet) with pizza sauce and mozzerrella cheese. (Extra garlic and oregano!)

Oddly enough, I loved lox and onion sandwiches. (Originally from NYC)

Eggs and bacon. Ate lots of eggs. Bricks of cheddar from Costco for snacking.

You want to give them protein to repair the good cells that are also destroyed by chemo, and calories. If they don't get enough of both they risk losing muscle mass too.

If they'll eat milk shakes, try to add Ensure or protein powder to them. Don't for for low fat anything if they are actually losing weight.

I couldn't tolerate soda and drank juice (eh!) on my worst days. Most of the time I drank ice tea, and lemonade was too acidic.

If you spice something, (like Italian herbs) try to put in more than you usually would.

In eggs, you can toss in peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese to make it 'more'.

Humus. Maybe they can use it as a dip as it has a strong garlic taste.

Peanut butter also has a strong flavor. Cheddar has more flavor than american cheese.

Is there anything they particularly like that you can work with? If they like hamburgers, make one they can spice up, but don't worry about the bread.

All beef hotdogs with a strong deli mustard. I just ate them plain and dipped them in the mustard.

See what you can intice them with, including ice cream. Or look for the protein bars that are either meal replacement or for runners. (The first has more calories) as the good ones taste like candy/cake but have nutrition. Those are good to carry for snacks too.

Have some easy snacking food on hand, so they can nibble if they can't do full meals.

Ask them if pasta sounds good. Mac and Cheese. Spaghetti. Noodles with butter.

Or soup. With lots of 'stuff' in it. Homemade, not canned. Freeze the extra, so you have it on hand.

Salami. When the mood hits they can just cut off a slice to eat.

Try the frozen appetizers. Maybe they'll nibble on chicken wings or little pizza rolls.

As for me, I'm now on a diet to loose the weight I gained while on chemo.

 

[OKWMom]

Thank you so much. I've printed this list and will try and see if any of this appeals to him. I do think the tomato sauce ideas have real promise since he did remark that the pizza he ate last week tasted normal.

I'll also be sure to try the milkshakes since he should be able to tolerate those even when he gets those blisters in his mouth. I haven't thought of putting anything in them, but I should have.

I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this list. All of this is so new to my family and it feels like I have found myself in a foreign country - like I just don't know my way around. But I think this will be all too familar before long.

 

[cgrobin]

No problem, you can see by my style I was just 'rambling' with ideas.

I didn't have a problem swallowing, but I heard if you do, pudding goes down easily. Liquids seem more of a hard swallow, but the middle consistancy gives the throat something to 'grasp' yet goes down easily.

Here's a link I have from the National Cancer Institute. I believe I was given a copy of this as a brochure. http://www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/eatinghints

Whether you have to worry about things like raw vegetables and other restrictions depend on whether you husband is neutropenic or not. Neutropenic is when your neutrophil count is below 500. They doctor or infusion nurse should have said something if he is.

 

[BMNABrinx]

I don't know of any foods that might taste good but when my grandmother was taking chemo her nurse warned of the metallic taste and warned against using metal utensils or drinking anything from a can. I don't know if this is true or not but I just thought I'd mention it.
Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Comprehensive list, cgrobin.

I didn't have a metallic taste. Just agita. Constant.

I'd say basically whatever he can stomach, he should eat. With the idea that, if at all possible, calories should be as nutrient laden as possible.

But I know for me, that went out the window when all I could stomach some days were potato chips. And ginger ale.

Drinking water is important for good kidney function with all the medications onboard. I could only drink flavored seltzer water as plain water made me feel full and worse.

Beware that sometimes eating favorite foods during this time can later turn into "negative associations". It happened to me with grilled vegetables, especially peppers.

Best wishes, and thank you for your concern about him.

 

[nancydrew79]

I don't know of any foods that might taste good but when my grandmother was taking chemo her nurse warned of the metallic taste and warned against using metal utensils or drinking anything from a can. I don't know if this is true or not but I just thought I'd mention it.
Good luck and best wishes.

This was true with my mother. Also food cooked in certain pans had a more of a metallic taste to her than with others. I bought a large container of soft mints from Walgreens (in the diabetics supply section) and those helped her cleanse her palette so to speak. Bananas, eggs, broiled fish, homemade soups, homemade lasagna were some of her favorites.

 

[OKWMom]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. I do know his count is ok now for raw veggies but we are aware it can become an issue.

I never thought the pans could change the taste, but I think we may still have some of those old glass visions cookware pieces in the attic. It's certainly worth a try.

We really haven't found much that he still finds appealing but it isn't for a lack of trying. The shakes have worked well and he is drinking those and we are adding some fresh fruit for added flavor and nutritional value.

Thank you all again. You may all see me more and more as we go farther down this road.

 

[imabrat]

If he wants to eat something, let him. If he feels like eating nothing but hot dogs all day, let him.
I lived on KFC mashed potatoes with gravy and Perkins macaroni and cheese. Occasional chinese food and chocolate ice cream too. Lots of shakes and fries from Burger King. Hospital food was nasty, and fast food was all we had since we were in the city. Lots of Ensure too!

Beware that some foods may bring negative connotations later on. I used to love hot dogs, and even had 2 on my first ever day of chemo. I haven't been able to touch a hot dog since.
Use plastic utensils if the metallic tastes bother him. They did for me, and plastic utensils were a god send.

 

[Julie*]

Hi,

My 2 SIL's went through cancer last year at the same time and they both loved when I sent them Chemo Pops.
http://**********lollies.com/store/tek9.asp?pg=products&grp=36

They said that they really helped to get that awful taste out of their mouths. So, it's not a menu suggestion but it may help make your dad more comfortable.

Good luck,
Julie


ETA: I don't know if my link is working. Try googling Chemo Pops and that should get you to a website called three lollies.

 

[drnriordan]

My DH has been in chemo treatement, on and off, for the last 15 months, in a number of different regimines. He too has had mouth ulcerations most of the time. He has lived on shakes. As a PP indicated, go with full fat everything if he can tolerate it. I use three scoops of premium ice cream, a full scoop of soy protein powder (vanilla flavor) a splash of real vanilla extract (to help with counteracting the metalic taste of treatment) and a cup of whole milk. This ends up providing about 700 calories per shake. I also sometimes add the frozen, sweetened strawberries, which ends up tasting like yummy strawberry shortcake. I do not do the ensure or boost, since these have a yucky chemical-like vitamin taste. While DH was in radiation treatment last summer this was all we could get in and it was sufficient to keep his weight and protein intake such that he never had to have a feeding tube, which is huge when they are radiating the mouth/throat. Good luck!