Q&A with My Cancer Coach: Chemo Side-Effects: Nausea and Lack of Appetite

Jane M. Guyette, Transformational Nutrition Coach

I had my 3rd round of chemo February 22nd-24th. As chemo side-effects are cumulative (meaning they get worse over time rather than better), it's no wonder this round was more difficult than the first two. I've been concerned about my nausea and lack of appetite, feeling I'm not getting the nutrients I need to detoxify from the chemo and eradicate the tumor that's metastasized to my liver. About a month before the chemo started, I'd already drastically changed my diet, including morning juicing and eating a lot of fruit and vegetables. Since the chemo started, it's been very difficult to keep up with these healthy cancer-fighting habits. So I reached out today to my cancer coach, Jane Guyette, and she gave me some very worthwhile and comforting advise. 

Whether you're going through chemo treatments yourself or caretaking someone who is, you might also benefit from what Jane and I discussed. My questions are in italics and precede Jane's answers, indented for ease in reading.

Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) Marker

I'm so emotional right now I can hardly write. After spending the past hour handwriting my Morning Pages on how my gut is telling me the chemo is not right for me, and that I feel I'm at a crossroads -- that I need to choose between Western Medicine and holistic medicine to resolve this cancer -- I found an e-mail message that score from Wednesday's CEA test was available to be viewed. I quickly logged into my patient account and opened the test results with hope and trepidation. What I read was so beyond my hopes and prayers that I burst into uncontrollable tears.

Not doing so well today . . . lots of side effects from Chemo Round 3.

Keeping bundled up even inside to help
alleviate the side-effects of this week's chemo.

I completed Round 3 of chemo yesterday, and the portable pack was removed at 1:30 p.m. Things weren't too bad yesterday, but today I'm feeling a number of symptoms. I think it's a combination of the weather changing from spring-like in the 50's and 60's for the past several days, to the arrival yesterday of a winter storm that dumped about 6" of snow and plummeted temps into the low 20's. Many of my side-effects are exacerbated by cold weather, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.

Here's what's plaguing me this round of chemo:

First-bite syndrome: This is the worst side-effect. The pain, lasting something like 15-30 seconds, is excruciating. And if you take your first bite on only one side of your mouth, you get to relive the pain on the other side on the next bite. So the trick is to take food in the middle of your mouth, bite down with the food in the middle of your teeth, and brace yourself for the ensuing waves of pain -- feels something like someone accessing your jaw with an electric drill. I've had root canals, tooth extractions, cavities filled. None of those experiences compare to the pain of first-bite syndrome.

A Protein-Packed Breakfast: Overnight Oatmeal

Before my January 5th cancer diagnosis I lived for my breakfast. Two extra-large organic eggs scrambled in organic butter or organic bacon fat and two strips of organic bacon, seasoned with sea salt or Pink Himalayan salt and rolled up in an organic flour tortilla. As a rare treat, I'd top the eggs and bacon with shredded organic Cheddar cheese. Along with my tasty burrito, I'd enjoy a cup of organic coffee, lightened with organic almond milk. I believed that because everything was organic that I was eating a healthy breakfast.

All that came to a screeching halt with the metastasis to my liver diagnosis.

Natural Killer Cells

I discovered "Natural Killer Cells" quite by accident, and this, hands down, is one of the most exciting things I have learned about how to naturally destroy the cancer tumor embedded in my liver. Natural Killer Cells ("NK cells") are white blood cells, part of the body's first line of defense against cancer.

The science is way over my head, but the bottom line is this -- NK cells act like well-armed soldiers, fully equipped to recognize cellular intruders in a healthy body. Their job is to seek out and destroy viral infections and rogue cancer cells. Once identified, NK cells attach to the intruder, breach its cellular wall, and release a lethal package of chemicals that basically blow the cancer cell to smithereens! 

Broccoli Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

This salad is crunchy, filling, and just plain yum, yummy! Be sure to use only organic ingredients!

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 pound broccoli heads, cut into small pieces
• 1 small head red cabbage, cleaned and shredded*
• 1/2 pound unpeeled, grated rainbow carrots
• 1 box grape tomatoes or 1 pound red grapes, quartered
• 1/2 cup toasted seeds (pumpkin or sunflower)

Dressing Ingredients:

• 2 avocados, peeled, with pits removed
• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons pink Himalayan salt
• 1 Tablespoon garlic

In a glass bowl, mix together the salad ingredients. In a separate glass bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients; make sure the avocado is well smashed and creamy. Then add the dressing mixture to the salad mixture and toss. Refrigerator for a few hours before serving to let the flavors "bloom".

Store leftovers in refrigerator in a Mason jar for up to two days.

* How to Shred Cabbage

Fear of Death

I've been thinking about the fear that cancer invokes. Because once the diagnosis is in, once the cancer has been confirmed, once the Western medical community provides you with its diagnosis and statistics for survival, it is ultimately your decision how you will deal with your completely understandable and legitimate fears.

There is a lot to fear. Your life has just been turned upside down! Will you need surgery? Can you trust your doctor, or should you get a second opinion? Will your family and friends be able to "handle" the diagnosis? There are financial fears. There are logistical fears -- getting to and from doctor appointments, diagnostic tests, chemo sessions, and surgery. Are your "affairs" in order -- wills, trusts, bank accounts, and other assets? And the really BIG fear -- am I going to die?