Mouth sores and what to eat during chemo

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tchmuzik
tchmuzik Member Posts: 110

Hi - this site has really helped me in the past and thankfully I made it through all treatments for triple negative breast cancer and am now 3 years out and doing great.   I'm writing this for my Mom - (76) who is now going through treatments for stage 4 breast cancer - also triple negative.    She has had one treatment (chemo) - also has done 15 radiation treatments but the chemo caused her to have horrible mouth sores.   This is something I didn't have so am not sure how to advise her.    The doctors have given her Nystatin and seems to be helping.   Anybody got any other suggestions for the mouth sores?    Now for my main concern.    Because of the sores she is not able to eat much - it must be mushy or liquid or something pretty much she can eat through a straw.   If anybody  has any advise on what she could be eating that would give her the nutrients she needs I would really appreciate it.     She is drinking Boost, eating yogurt and oatmeal.    I live a distance away from her and feel very helpless at this point.    My dad is there but unfortunately he cannot think "outside the box" and once he found Boost, oatmeal and yogurt that she could eat - well - you get the idea - that is what she is getting.    Mom is really weak and is depending on whatever he prepares for her.    I need to come up with some things that he can easily prepare since he really doesn't even know how to open a can we are limited.   I'm going there to stay for a week next week and hope to get the food thing under control and was hoping for some help from all you ladies.    Thanks so much - this is really hard seeing my Mom go through this.     Stephanie

Comments

  • thefuzzylemon
    thefuzzylemon Member Posts: 2,630
    edited March 2011

    Hello -

    I hope they are giving her popscicles or something really cold to eat during treatments ... I also eat frozen peas and corn whenever I feel or taste something strange.

    Since she already has the sores - get her the mouthwash for mouthsores (check out the shopping list thread - I'll bump it for you ... )

    Some people say drinking rootbeer helps a lot ... I hope this helps!!  Anything cold ... and a lot of it!!

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2011

    Hi,

    My onc office gave me Caphosol as I had mouth sores as well. It is two separate  liquids that you mix together and immediately swish and spit twice.  It didn't make the sores go away immediately but it did take the pain away and the sores resolved within a few days.  My onc office also had advised salt and baking soda with water and gargle several times a day for prevention but once I had the sores they gave me the Caphosol.

    I ate mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs.  Not mixed together!  They have microwave packets of mashed potatoes but also ready made ones that can be heated through and there are scrambled eggs already made in the frozen breakfast section of the store.  That would give her some protein and be soft in her mouth.  I also ate quite a bit of Cream of Wheat (the farina formula) and it has protein as well.  It is important to maintain as much food intake as possible so she stays strong.

    I know it is hard to be so far away.  My Mom was ill for many years and I lived on the other side of the country, I know how helpless you feel!

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2011

    fuzzylemon - you reminded me I also had frozen smoothies!  Easy to eat and so yummy!

  • Nitocris
    Nitocris Member Posts: 187
    edited March 2011

    Hi Tchmuzik. So sorry about your mom's problem. Hopefully the list below will help. All the best

    • - Avoid tart, acidic or salty foods and drinks such as citrus fruit juices (grapefruit, orange, lime), pickled and vinegary foods, tomato-based foods and some canned broths.
    • - Avoid rough-textured such as dry toast, granola, potato chips, pop corns, pretzels... and raw fruits and vegetables.
    • - Eat food that cool or room temperature.
    • - Limit alcohol, caffeine and tobacco. These substances can dry out the mouth and throat and promote further irritation.
    • - Avoid spices
    • - Use a straw for liquids
    • - Blend and moisten foods that are dry or solid. Use in soups or with sauces, gravies and casseroles.
    • - Softer and easy to swallow foods include soft, creamy foods such as cream soups, cheeses, mashed potatoes, pastas, yogurts, eggs, custards, puddings, cooked cereals, ice cream, casseroles, gravies syrups, milkshakes and nutritional liquid food supplements
    • - Drink your meals with nutritious liquids
    • - Practice good oral hygiene. (clean between teeth with dental thread and don't forget to clean tongue)
    • - Rinse mouth regularly with a salt solution (1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt mixed in 1 quart water) helps prevent infections and improves healing of a sore mouth and throat.

    Food high in protein:  Soft, bland meats and casseroles such as chicken rice casseroles, macaroni and cheese, tuna noodle casserole, creamed soups; pasteurized eggnog, milk, milkshakes.

     Soft foods to Include:

    • - Applesauce, bananas, watermelon and other soft fruits
    • - Cottage cheese, milk shakes or smoothies. Scrambbled eggs
    • - Puddings, flavored gelatin. Cooked cereals such as oatmeal or cream of wheat.
    • - Mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese or mashed vegetables.

    Shoppping list

    • - Butter, eggs, honey
    • - Applesauce; fruits, (particularly red fruits - blueberries, blackcurrants, cranberries...), no citrus (fresh, frozen, canned), vegetables (you can steam them first to soften them, puree them, then add them to mashed potatoes for instance.
    • - Milk, cottage cheese, ice cream, frozen yogurt, cheese, yogurt
    • - Nutritional energy drink supplement
    • - Popsicles, puddings, flavored gelatins.
    • - Dry fruits (dates, figues, prunes..).  Blend in milkshake or smoothies.
    • - All kinds of unsalted nuts; they are a powerhouse of protein. (Brazil nuts, almonds, hazel nuts, walnuts, cashews, macademia nuts). Blend 4-6 nuts in a smoothies or add to mashed potatoes or vegetables.
  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited March 2011

    Hi, Stephanie.  I'm so sorry for about your Mom's situation.  Biotene mouthwash -- available at Target, Wal-Mart and major drugstores should help.   

    Would your Dad fix her protein drinks in a blender?  EIther whey or soy (since she's ER-) protein powder, milk or apple juice, and any sort of non-acidic fruit (like peach) or fruit ice.  A spoon of the protein powder can also be mixed into yogurt for more nutrition.  Yogurt can also be added to the protein drink.

    Homemade soups would be nutritious, and can be blended, if necessary.  Ingredients like ready cooked chicken and prepped veggies, for example, are available these days, so it's quite easy to just put them in a pot of packaged chicken broth and have a very healthy soup quickly.        Deanna 

  • tchmuzik
    tchmuzik Member Posts: 110
    edited March 2011

    Wow - such wonderful information - thanks to ALL of you for posting.    I will go armed with this information when I visit and try to show Daddy how to do these things.    Deanna - why did you say Whey or soy protein powder because she was ER-?    I had never heard that and am just curious.   Actually I was really never told much about triple negative and had to do most of the research myself.   Again thanks to all of you!!!

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited March 2011

    Soy + ER+ = no good.  Because of the ER- soy isn't a factor.  I have also seen Boost mixed with ice cream or frozen yogurt if you are trying to just get calories in.

  • bennetts1
    bennetts1 Member Posts: 440
    edited March 2011

    Hi Stephanie!  It has been a LONG time since we have chatted.  We spoke last after you had reconstruction...I am from West Tn, near UC.!

     So sorry to hear about your mom, but I am glad to hear you are doing great!  While I was going through treatments, Vanderbilt provided me with a product called Prevention Oncology Mouth Rinse.  I think Walgreens carries it, but it helped with my mouth sores and sore tongue!  I do know you can order it online too.  http://www.preventionlabs.biz/mall/oralcare.aspx

    I wish the best for your mom!

    Sandy

  • tchmuzik
    tchmuzik Member Posts: 110
    edited March 2011

    Where are you in West TN???   I am In UC alot lately - seeing after Mom.   Thanks for the info.   The onc gave her a mouth rinse and then a pill to take for 10 days following the treatment - this last go round it really seemed to help although there are still sores that have not healed from the first treatment.   We were just glad it wasn't as bad as the first time.    I am doing good - my 6 month check ups are always good - thank GOD!!   Can't wait to be on a one year "leash".   How are you doing?   I live half way between Chattanooga and Nashville now - a place called Rock Island - ever heard of it?    We're building a house and love it over here.   Our lives move on and I am glad of it!!   Thanks for your concern.    Stephanie

  • bennetts1
    bennetts1 Member Posts: 440
    edited March 2011

    Stephanie...sent you a PM

  • Sharon648
    Sharon648 Member Posts: 15
    edited May 2012
    Wow thank for all the info.I am starting chemo soon..Hope not much side effectTongue out
  • cooka
    cooka Member Posts: 278
    edited May 2012

    Hi, I pretty much survived on scrambled eggs and Biotene. Hope it gets easier for her.

  • beegee
    beegee Member Posts: 32
    edited July 2012

    Biotene helped me too.

    There wasn't much that I liked to eat, but I did stick with cold, wet foods.  I ate a lot of canned peaches, ice cream, milk shakes, pudding, apple sauce.  I also forced down a couple Ensure's a day.  Not a great diet, but as soon as the chemo was over, I could tolerate and enjoy a normal diet again. 

  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited July 2012

    First of all, get your mom on some probiotics ASAP. Nystatin is all very nice, but it does not address the root problem. I took 3-4 capsules daily of acidophilus all through my treatment and only suffered a bit of wooly mouth here and there.



    In the meantime, probably smoothies of various kinds would work. Base them on Greek yogurt and add fruits, veggies protein powder etc.

  • DesertMama
    DesertMama Member Posts: 47
    edited August 2012

    I find frozen smoothies to be soothing. I throw some frozen berries, a bit of yogurt, a scoop of protein powder and some juice into the blender.

    Special K I am curious about soy not being a factor for triple negatives. My BS told me I could use protein powder in smoothies if it was whey rather than soy based. I will have to ask her about it. 

  • SpecialK
    SpecialK Member Posts: 16,486
    edited August 2012

    desert - I am no expert on soy and ER-, just assumed that it would not be affecting ER- receptors for the OP's mom.  Soy is controversial in regards to BC in general, with some info saying no problem and some staying don't consume it.  Here is a link with some more soy info:

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/CA.57.5.260/full

  • ILBoysMom
    ILBoysMom Member Posts: 79
    edited August 2012

    The dietician in my treatment center actually procured for me the cans of supplement that they use in feeding tubes.  Believe it or not, on TCH my sense of taste was so messed up that I drank the Nestle brand that has a very slight vanilla flavor with a straw right out of the can.  Didn't taste bad at all.  It has more nutritional value than the Boost, plus it got me the additional fluids that I needed.  I drank one in the mid-morning and one mid-afternoon, and it helped with my fatigue as well as part of my fatigue was not eating.

  • DesertMama
    DesertMama Member Posts: 47
    edited August 2012

    SpecialK, thanks for the link.

  • WVmountainlady
    WVmountainlady Member Posts: 1
    edited September 2013

    DesertMama, I like your recipe for easy smoothies and will give them a try. I don't want to use steriods, etc for mouth sores, and have been given an herbal 'recipe' that's guaranteed to ease and greatly reduce mouth sores in under 24 hours; and pretty much eliminate them within 48 hours. It consists of 2 - 3 Tablespoons of Goldenseal powder with 1 - 2 teaspoons of cinnamon (ceylon cinnamon is best) mixed with enough water to make a pint of solution. Shake well before each use. Swish a mouthful 4 times daily for a minute or 2, then spit out - do not swallow the mixture. I can pretty much guarantee your mouth sores will be gone in 48 hours, depending of course on how long you've been dealing with them. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, do not use goldenseal until you've asked your doctor.

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