PozLotus's Journal, 15 March 2023

Oh... And so far, no significant nausea. The anti-nausea drugs are working well! 

I'm glad it's going well so far.  

We are all holding you in grace. 

🙏💜🙏💜🙏 

Is a dietician helping you? Did they give you instructions to nix the added sugar in your diet. This might be a case where smoothies can really be your friend. Drink them as smoothies, make it into popscicles. I have a concoction that I make up that has PB powder chia, milled flax, wheat germ , protein powder, hemp. When I’m ready for my drink I add the concoction, blueberries, mango, pineapple, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, tofu, some Premier Protein shake along with about 8 ice. cubes and I’m all set. Mix and match the fruit and the yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu as you see fit. I also add a granola mix that I make myself, but you could use a commercially prepared product. My granola mix has 4 different kinds of nuts in it. It makes an easy to put together lunch for me that packs a nutritional wollop.  

I have consulted with the radiation oncology dietitian. I showed her the book I use as a reference ("Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Tradition and Modern Nutrition" by Paul Pitchford. She said the smoothies were good, that I should continue increasing protein intake. I use very little sugar.  

I have consulted with the radiation oncology dietitian. I showed her the book I use as a reference ("Healing With Whole Foods: Asian Tradition and Modern Nutrition" by Paul Pitchford. She said the smoothies were good, that I should continue increasing protein intake. I use very little sugar.  

I used Aquaphor on my skin and that helped alot during my radiation treatments. It is greasy but I put it on after radiation and re-applied at bedtime.  

Aquaphor is what they're giving me as well. Seems to help the burning sensation from the radiation.  

I'm Vegan/WFPB, and I get a decent amount of my protein with edamame throughout the week. Are you just not hungry, or is it difficult to keep food down? 

Because of the intensity modulated radiation therapy, I need to almost double protein intake over the next month. For the average diet, I get plenty of protein for my age and activity level. Radiation causes extreme skin damage. Protein helps those wounds heal more quickly.  

Make sure and check on soy though with your dietician. I was not and still am not allowed much soy in my diet. I know it can depend on the type of cancer and also chemo that you are receiving. I lost a lot of weight during chemo and my dietician said to get Culver's shakes because they made them with eggs. That was not an option for me because we don't have any Culver's around us. I did rely on smoothies a lot though. I did not have much trouble with nasuea but if I did I sucked on ginger candies. I found them in a whole good's store. I had a cancer mentor that helped me weekly so she had tips and tricks for everything encountered. At Mayo they pair you up with someone that had the same type of cancer so that was helpful.  

I'm also WFPB at the end of my cancer treatment - fingers crossed. I use soymilk chocolate milk to get the protein. VERY tasty. I make my own with unsweetened soymilk and a couple of squares of dark, no dairy chocolate.  

The cancer I have is a consequence of an immune system that's been knocked around a bit by HIV (long-term survivor since 1988). It's also caused by a virus. Anyway, no one has said a word about soy products. I don't eat a lot of soy. Maybe 2 servings of tofu and two servings of tempeh a month. About ½ gallon of soy milk a month. Most of my protein comes from a wide variety of legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds as well as nut butters and seitan. I occasionally use some meat substitute products by Field Roast and Dr. Praeger's burger products. I make a mean lentil, vegetable and rice soup by the way. ;) 

💕🙏💕 

It sounds like you are on a good path and taking a proactive approach. Main thing is, you have come so far successfully battle another mighty foe. I certainly wish you the best. Please stay here with us if you can. Your journey may give hope and strength to someone else. 

My husband has been doing the same regimen which started in 2020.  

Thank you to everyone for your support and kindness. Keeping an upbeat (and not angry) outlook makes everything at least a little bit better. I'm very lucky to have the support online and in person. It's much easier to stay upbeat and not wallow in self pity or indulge in anger or wind up in a worse situation because I've decided to use again (I'm a recovering heroin addict. Clean several years now). There's no way I could have the focus I need to navigate this if I decided to use. Your encouragement and support mean a great deal. Thank you. 🙏🏾 

Many prayers for you 

PozLotis, you are an amazing person. I am impressed with your strength in fighting HIV in the '80s (sadly, many lost that battle) and in staying clean in your battle with heroin. I am holding you in my heart every day.