How important is diet?

[BJS]

I've been reading lots of stories about the different kinds of diets cancer patients are on. When my husband first started chemo we were giving him lots of small meals high in protien, as time progressed & he started to get his appetite back we slipped back to our normal diet of 3 meals a day. He has always managed to maintained the same weight as he was before he got sick but now I'm getting worried that I'm not doing enough diet wise to help him get the best results.

[Sailor]

G'day BJS If your husband is happy on his normal diet and doing well what are you worried about? If you need reassurance get in touch with the cancer help line 13 11 20 and ask them. The Cancer Council has a lot of stuff about what makes up a good healthy diet. Exercise is good and has been show to be fairly positive for aiding recovery, again ask the helpline. If you go back to the home page of this site, on the left hand side under recent conversations there is a blog I put in On the Folly of Diet Changes, Supplements and Doing Anything Radical. Have a read of that. Cheers Sailor It was a strange and pleasant life for me all summer, sailing entirely alone by sea and river...John MacGregor 1867 The Voyage Alone in the Yawl Rob Roy

[BJS]

Hi Sailor, I had previously read your blog on Diet Changes as well as others that advocate special diets. I guess I'm just getting reassurance that I'm doing everything possible to help my husband fight his cancer. I did phone the cancer help line the other day & they are sending out some diet information. Thanks for the feed back. Regards BJS

[#4]

Hi BJS The Cancer Council can and will provide you with general information. From my own experience the information we have received was hardly at the high-school level. For instance, I've advised the dietitian that my partner takes protein in powder form. She asked for the brand name. When I said, ON Whey Protein - she said she never heard of it. It is the best protein out there, and it can be confirmed on a number of websites across the globe (Whey Protein Reviews for instance). A very popular product with hardly any sugar in it. Instead she recommended Proform protein with 41% sugar in it!!! She even ran down a few floors to get us a tab for free. To this day we have not opened it and we do not intend to do so. I am not trying to imply anything here rather than you need to find someone who is really knowledgeable about these things and who you think can give the best advice on any question you may have. Certainly the lady we met knew something but to my taste it was not satisfactory. The protein issue was just one example. She never ever heard of kefir, or psyllium husk for example, and the list could go on. Good luck.