# Lifestyles & Discussion > Personal Health & Well-Being >  My Cancer

## Chester Copperpot

Up until now I havent discussed my personal situation other than with several members whom I am close to.

But I felt it was important to mention some things because the doctors are fairly certain how I got my cancer now and I wanted to share it with my RPF friends so they can be wary.

So quite simply, doctors are pretty certain that my cancer was caused by the HPV virus contracted through oral sex. This totally blew my mind. I didnt even know men could get this HPV and I thought it was simply something that caused women to get cervical cancer - but thats evidently not the case.

Its not really possible to determine when or who gives it to you as most of the time this stuff just sits dormant in your body for years and decades. Maybe stress triggered it...

But the good points about this are that it means my diet was not the cause nor was their some environmental exposure like stepping into toxic sludge uhknowingly.

treatment is 7 weeks of radiation & chemo.  The chemo is rather light.. One drug (no cocktail) just to sensitize the cancer to the radiation.  The radiation is the main form of treatment and is 5 days a week for 7 weeks.. After 7 weeks all of the cancer should be gone. (HPV cancers respond very favorably to this type of treatment)

For those that know me, know that chemo and radiation are anathema to me.. but in this case it seems to be the way to go. Ive been told  that 95% of cancers are from diet and 5% from exposure to something.. so since mine is not caused by diet then it doesnt seem (to me) that diet would be a cure.. 

Regardless,  I did put myself on a harsh vegan diet to deny the cancer any fuel I could... Im sure even causing myself some nutritional deficiencies.. my weight at original diagnosis was 247lbs.. my weight as of yesterday was 191lbs... Im 6' 2".

since my stomach has shrunk im trying to eat bulky foods to get it bigger and once the therapy plan is all in place Ill need to keep my weight from going down so if that means I need to eat slurpees and orange juliuses and milkshakes - so be it.

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## tod evans

Speedy recovery!

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## FindLiberty

I hope you can beat this.  It sounds like you are getting good advice.

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## Chester Copperpot

> I hope you can beat this.  It sounds like you are getting good advice.


ill beat it.. I dont think I could be in better hands. My doctors really seem to know their stuff.

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## donnay

You are in my prayers, CC.  

Kick this cancer to the curb!


ETA:  Michael Douglas had the same and beat it.

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## luctor-et-emergo

> ill beat it.. I dont think I could be in better hands. My doctors really seem to know their stuff.


In either case, I wish you a speedy recovery. Take care.

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## Bryan

I'm very sorry to hear this, but thanks for sharing the information. Now just beat the thing.

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## angelatc

Not something I would wish on anybody.  Win win win, dude.

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## Suzanimal

I'm pulling for ya, CC!

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## Todd

Prayers....

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## farreri

You might want to stick to a vegan diet for the time being. Check out what these studies found:







> Doctor's Note
> 
> Vegetarians appear to have lower rates of all cancers combined (see Vegetarians Versus Healthy Omnivores), but this is the first study of cancer rates among thousands of North American vegans. There are other reasons that help explain these results; from lower levels of the cancer-promoting growth hormone IGF-1 (The Answer to the Pritikin Puzzle), the foreign meat molecule Neu5Gc (How Tumors Use Meat to Grow: Xeno-Autoantibodies), and heterocyclines in cooked meat (Estrogenic Cooked Meat Carcinogens) to more of the good stuff (#1 Anticancer Vegetable and Which Fruit Fights Cancer Better?)
> 
> The other HPV video I reference is Treating Genital Warts With Green Tea.
> 
> For more context, check out my associated blog posts: Why do Vegan Women Have Fewer Female Cancers?
> 
> http://nutritionfacts.org/video/why-...have-less-hpv/





> Cervical Cancer
> Michael Greger M.D. · Last Updated on May 24, 2016
> 
> Cervical cancer can be life-threatening.  Potentially due to exposure to certain zoonotic (animal-to-human) viruses, some groups such as poultry slaughterhouse and processing plant workers and butchers’ wives may have higher cervical cancer risk.  To help prevent cervical cancer, research suggests higher vegetable intake.
> 
> Some foods that may have a beneficial effect on cervical cancer prevention and treatment include: turmeric application for early stage cancer; phytate intake from beans, grains, nuts and seeds, green tea, broccoli, broccoli sprouts, amla, raspberries, strawberries, and chamomile tea.
> 
> http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/cervical-cancer/


Just don't follow an ultra-restrictive vegan diet as the type you describe you've been doing sounds like you're trying to subsist mainly on vegetables which won't give you enough calories which will start making you weak and will lower immune system and hormones.

You might want to check out the Starch Solution diet by Dr. McDougall which is essentially the vegan version of the Blue Zones diet which I basically follow.  Both focus on whole grains, potatoes, and beans as the bulk of your diet followed by fruit, moderate amount of vegetables, and up to a handful amount of nuts and seeds per day to top it off.  If you prefer eating more fruit, then follow durianrider's diet which focuses more on fruit than starches.

Be sure to take both B12 and Vitamin D3 on any of these diets and stick with reputable supplement brands and do follow-up blood tests after to make sure the stuff you take is working. (Dr. Greger, MD, from the video above, recommends at least 250 mcg B12 daily and 2,000 IU Vit D daily.)

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## Chester Copperpot

> You might want to stick to a vegan diet for the time being. Check out what these studies found:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just don't follow an ultra-restrictive vegan diet as the type you describe you've been doing sounds like you're trying to subsist mainly on vegetables which won't give you enough calories which will start making you weak and will lower immune system and hormones.
> 
> You might want to check out the Starch Solution diet by Dr. McDougall which is essentially the vegan version of the Blue Zones diet which I basically follow.  Both focus on whole grains, potatoes, and beans as the bulk of your diet followed by fruit, moderate amount of vegetables, and up to a handful amount of nuts and seeds per day to top it off.  If you prefer eating more fruit, then follow durianrider's diet which focuses more on fruit than starches.
> ...


I did an extreme vegan diet to get into ketosis.. that way I could deny both sugar and animal protein to the cancer.  very rough diet... after a certain point something had to give and i let myself have some fruit.. during the diet i would let myself have some small pieces of fish.. real small like 2.50 oz...

to be honest after a while certain meats start grossing you out at time... also avoid poultry and egg protein as in some studies that type of protein can promote tumor growth... 

treatment starts in 2 weeks for me and right now im getting to the point where I need to stretch my stomach so I can eat more food... maybe 2 days before or so ill start drinking some crap food like slurpees, milk shakes... at least by the time treatment starts the priority will be to maintain body weight and they quality of the food not as important.. so cream sauces or whatever... im having some of that onmy food right now but to be honest because my system is so cleaned out from eating mostly vegetables, it seems i can only tolerate so much crap food.


im going to get some liquid vitamins/minerals tomorrow... i dont normally get synthetic stuff but in this case itll do me good i think

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## Suzanimal

> I did an extreme vegan diet to get into ketosis.. that way I could deny both sugar and animal protein to the cancer.  very rough diet... after a certain point something had to give and i let myself have some fruit.. during the diet i would let myself have some small pieces of fish.. real small like 2.50 oz...
> 
> to be honest after a while certain meats start grossing you out at time... also avoid poultry and egg protein as in some studies that type of protein can promote tumor growth... 
> 
> treatment starts in 2 weeks for me and right now im getting to the point where I need to stretch my stomach so I can eat more food... maybe 2 days before or so ill start drinking some crap food like slurpees, milk shakes... at least by the time treatment starts the priority will be to maintain body weight and they quality of the food not as important.. so cream sauces or whatever... im having some of that onmy food right now but to be honest because my system is so cleaned out from eating mostly vegetables, it seems i can only tolerate so much crap food.
> 
> 
> im going to get some liquid vitamins/minerals tomorrow... i dont normally get synthetic stuff but in this case itll do me good i think


Have you considered a high quality protein shake?

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## farreri

> I did an extreme vegan diet to get into ketosis.. that way I could deny both sugar and animal protein to the cancer.  very rough diet... after a certain point something had to give and i let myself have some fruit.. during the diet i would let myself have some small pieces of fish.. real small like 2.50 oz...


You'll have to choose some kind of macronutrient to get enough calories at some point. If you want to stay in ketosis, there's always plant fats like avocados, nuts & seeds, olives, and coconut to stay low carb. There's also people who claim fruit cured their cancer. Here's this video of durianrider's girlfriend interviewing a girl who cured her terminal brain cancer by going raw fruitarian. It's anecdotal evidence, so take with a grain of salt.




> also avoid poultry and egg protein as in some studies that type of protein can promote tumor growth...


From studies I've seen, IGF-1 and Casein seem to be the biggest cancer promoters which are heavily found in dairy and meat. Studies do seem to show vegans have lowest rates of cancer. That might be the reason.

Check out this video where people with a certain type of dwarfism that can't metabolize IGF-1 essentially makes them immune to cancer!

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/canc...fing-mutation/




> to be honest after a while certain meats start grossing you out at time...


Yeah, fish is the only meat I can eat now and after watching documentaries about all the plastic and other crap in the ocean, it makes me want to eat even less of it.




> at least by the time treatment starts the priority will be to maintain body weight and they quality of the food not as important.. so cream sauces or whatever... im having some of that onmy food right now but to be honest because my system is so cleaned out from eating mostly vegetables, it seems i can only tolerate so much crap food.


I'd have to recommend staying away from dairy as much as possible because it has the most growth hormones. Fruit, whole grains and beans will make you feel satiated.




> im going to get some liquid vitamins/minerals tomorrow... i dont normally get synthetic stuff but in this case itll do me good i think


That would be the smart thing to do.

Get well soon, man. It's not the same not having you around to argue with!

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## Chester Copperpot

> Have you considered a high quality protein shake?


Um, right now im going to be concerned with calories... so fat.. some protein would always be good... right now im totally disgusted when i see advertisements for hamburgers probably as a result of been on that pretty much vegan diet.. it seems my bp and pulse is coming down pretty quickly.. i had to cut my meds in half starting last night... so im sure it had to be from the extreme diet... right now im mostly eating carbs. but i expect to start having some milkshakes soon.. maybe ill have one today

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## angelatc

> Um, right now im going to be concerned with calories... so fat.. some protein would always be good... right now im totally disgusted when i see advertisements for hamburgers probably as a result of been on that pretty much vegan diet.. it seems my bp and pulse is coming down pretty quickly.. i had to cut my meds in half starting last night... so im sure it had to be from the extreme diet... right now im mostly eating carbs. but i expect to start having some milkshakes soon.. maybe ill have one today


I know you gotta go with your gut, but I have to say this: One of the few things DonnaY and I agree on is that cancer and sugar is a bad combination.

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## Chester Copperpot

> You'll have to choose some kind of macronutrient to get enough calories at some point. If you want to stay in ketosis, there's always plant fats like avocados, nuts & seeds, olives, and coconut to stay low carb. There's also people who claim fruit cured their cancer. Here's this video of durianrider's girlfriend interviewing a girl who cured her terminal brain cancer by going raw fruitarian. It's anecdotal evidence, so take with a grain of salt.
> 
> 
> From studies I've seen, IGF-1 and Casein seem to be the biggest cancer promoters which are heavily found in dairy and meat. Studies do seem to show vegans have lowest rates of cancer. That might be the reason.
> 
> Check out this video where people with a certain type of dwarfism that can't metabolize IGF-1 essentially makes them immune to cancer!
> 
> http://nutritionfacts.org/video/canc...fing-mutation/
> 
> ...


nah I blew ketosis out the window the other day when I had swedish crepes and 2 large orange juices at IHOP.  Sometimes I feel like apollo 13..  last week or so i was feeling REALLY crappy early in the day.. and when you have cancer its easy to say to yourself (the cancer) but then it turns out that youre dehydrated and your calcium levels are high and when thats corrected suddenly you feel much better... im not looking to stay in ketosis anymore...it was just something I felt was the most prudent thing to do while I had to wait around for everything else. 

and i will have to say something about orange juice.. IHOP uses Florida's Natural and Perkins uses Minute Maid.. When I drank 2 large Floridas Natural there was no ill effets.. but when I had 1.5 glasses of Minute Maid... it didnt take long for the sugar to put me into an insulin-like coma.. Floridas Natural claims to be freshly squeezed OJ and nothing else and although I never really  believed that 100% I can definitely say its a completely better food product and must not contain those "flavor packs" that all the other OJ brands use which is basically just sugar and artificial color to make the OJ look like OJ (its never on the ingredient label because its considered a 'process' and not an 'ingredient"..  Normally I get locally freshly squeezed raw OJ for $5/quart.. but they dont do it year round)

well this message seems to be getting quite long but just for future reference I dont think Ill be arguing too much about this kind of stuff.. if I do it can only happen after I learn to properly disconnect emotion and stress from the conversation... stress was definitely a trigger for the cancer and while I dont blame our arguments this is just something I need to learn to do for myself for all discussions.. especially political ones...

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## Chester Copperpot

> I know you gotta go with your gut, but I have to say this: One of the few things DonnaY and I agree on is that cancer and sugar is a bad combination.


Oh I understand that totally but once treatments start you have to look at it another way.... Theres no doubt that denying sugar to the cancer (and animal protein) stops the cancerous growth in its tracks..

But when time for chemo comes you have to realize that chemo attacks fast growing cells.. therefore slowing down the growth of the cancer seems to be counter-productive.

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## presence

regardless of your outlook on chemo/rad, I would take a curcumin supplement or medicinal dose of tumeric daily



https://www.google.com/search?q=curc...cer&gws_rd=ssl

http://www.newportnaturalhealth.com/...d-oral-cancer/

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## Chester Copperpot

> regardless of your outlook on chemo/rad, I would take a curcumin supplement or medicinal dose of tumeric daily
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=curc...cer&gws_rd=ssl
> 
> http://www.newportnaturalhealth.com/...d-oral-cancer/


ive taken so much turmeric over the last couple months i coulda choked on it... everybody said you have to take 2 tbsp daily which doesnt seem possible. the best I could was 2 teaspoons... either way ill check with my chemo dr on what she thinks... and since shes Indian at least she should be familiar with the spice.

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## presence

tumeric is only 5% curcumin by weight; so supplementation would be much easier

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## Matt Collins

YIKES!   

That is scary stuff....




http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationshi...about-oral-sex

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## Carlybee

Prayers for a full recovery

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## juleswin

It seems like your doctors are looking out for you. Get well soon and come back to the forum, there is a political debating chair with your name on it

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## donnay

~Bump~

Hope CC is doing well.

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## bunklocoempire

I'm sorry I missed this.

Prayers for a complete and speedy recovery.  
Thank you so much for sharing the medical angles/strategies and your body's reactions, it means a lot.

I've got an uncle who had to deal with chemo, a terrible thing to go through, but chemo worked for him.

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## cajuncocoa

I just saw this as well....from one CC to another, prayers for a speedy recovery.  Let us know how you're doing!

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## Working Poor

Instead of slurpees and milk shakes I would rather see you making smoothies with all the "super foods you an pack into them like blue berries, high grade spirilina or blue green algae (just not for the Pacific ocean) they taste great too and will keep you healthy while going thru chemo and afterwards.

My favorite recipie:
In blender cup add:
1 banana
handful blue berries
1teaspoon spirilina or blue green algae powder(some people add more)
1 teaspoon MACA powder(I really like the taste of this stuff but it is very expensive so I try to keep it at 1 teaspoon but, when I have more money I use more than a teaspoon)
1 teaspoon turmeric
handful of acia berries
couple ice cubes
fill with almond or coconut milk
blend until smooth drink it all. Sometimes I also add tahinni (sesame butter) pineapple, fresh carrot juice or whatever I have in the way of fruits. IMO the pineapple and banana taste really good with coconut milk. Also juicing is very good for your health. Organic cabbage, apple and carrot juice are awesome. Cabbage juice is very healing to the digestive mucosa so I drink it often. Also homemade sauerkraut is very good for killing cancer. It is very easy to make and there are lots of recipes for it online.

You will be in my thoughts and prayers please take very good care of yourself.

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## Suzanimal

I don't have any medical advice. I just wanted you to know I'm thinking about you and hope you get well soon.

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## Chester Copperpot

> I don't have any medical advice. I just wanted you to know I'm thinking about you and hope you get well soon.


I appreciate that Susie... Really thanks to everybody for the warm wishes and thoughts and prayers..

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## Chester Copperpot

I wasnt going to post in this thread anymore but since I see others are I guess I might as well...  Yesterday completed my 3rd week of treatment... I have four more weeks to go and then everything should be ok... This is a special treatment designed for HPV cancer and it consists of a 10 minute radiation treatment mon-fri as well as one weekly chemo treatment.. the chemo is just one drug not a cocktail whose job is to just sensitize the cancer to die from the radiation...

Because this effects the throat its hard for people to understand that alot of foods are not able to be eaten or consumed. something like turmeric as healthy as it might be is out of the question. Id probably choke to death.  in addition to foods not tasting good because of chemo there is an added dimension of foods being too dry.. Now I dont just mean peanut butter... But I mean a Rita's  Italian Ice or even a Slurpee from 7-11.. Completely too dry to eat.. Imagine all you taste is the sugar/corn syrup but not the water.. that is basically the sensation one gets.  Right now Ive been drinking Ensure drinks. They are soothing to my throat and actually taste good..  I lost 2 lbs this past week and my chemo dr wasnt happy so im going to start using my feeding tube today to keep my weight up... 

I can tell you after losing one's ability to taste food that all the money in the world isnt worth not being able to enjoy food and drink.. Also events like this really prioritize whats important in your life... Relationships with family and friends, good times... politics not so much. lol

its also a very humbling experience... as someone who is normally 6' 2" and 250lbs and in pretty good health going into  a condition like this makes you realize that if someone were to attack me, I wouldnt be able to defend myself... That thought occurred to me the other week or so and was quite a revelation when it crossed my mind.

This weekend I have a 3 day weekend off from treatment which will be welcomed followed by Tuesday the 5th which will be a chemo day for me.. And my birthday as well. So ill probably be online more often to talk to you guys...

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## Chester Copperpot

Another comment about dry drinks for a minute... The past week or so my gf actually found TANG the old drink mix they used to advertise that the astronauts drank.

Now get this... I get some water and put in some tang and taste nothing... but as I add more and more tang to the water it seems like im adding sand... Tang is too dry to drink.

Where some other drink might be perfectly fine.

A drink that might be okay on a monday isnt okay 2 days later.... But so far Ensure has been pretty steadfast.

I thought the Tang experience was almost comical and its why I wanted to share it.

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## donnay

Have a Happy Birthday, CC!

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## Suzanimal

> Have a Happy Birthday, CC!


And many mooooorrrrre!

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## euphemia

Enjoy your weekend off.  Years ago I fixed dinner for a friend who was going through chemo.  I felt strongly that I should fix certain things and it seemed like there was a lot of citrus in the menu.  But when I got to her house, she could not have been more delighted because during her chemo lemon was one of the only things that tasted good to her.  

I guess it's different for everyone.  I hope you have an easy time finding foods and drinks that taste good to you.  And happy birthday.

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## Chester Copperpot

Another thing Ive noticed about foods... Virtually all the crappy foods out there that are flavored with MSG and chemicals result in absolutely no flavor at all.. Whereas fruits seem to be ok and milk and milk products seem to be ok.... The more natural something is seems to be better... Of course about a week ago I went to a chinese buffet to find foods I could taste and I actually did find a couple different  dumplings and what not that did, and I also went to the whole foods food bar and tried 7-8 different healthy foods and none of them had any taste to them whatsoever so its really a hit or miss sort of thing... 

today I will try to have some milk and cereal and see if my gf can make me some wet type of thin pancake.. natural maple syrup seems to be ok.. In addition I can smell all the foods just fine, which makes it more depressing when you take a bite and get no flavor...

But everyday can be a different set of challenges... One day milk burned my throat. I havent tried milk since but this is the sort of thing that goes on. Right now I could really go for pancakes and breakfast sausage even though I know theres prob not going to be any flavor.

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## Suzanimal

> Another thing Ive noticed about foods... Virtually all the crappy foods out there that are flavored with MSG and chemicals result in absolutely no flavor at all.. Whereas fruits seem to be ok and milk and milk products seem to be ok.... The more natural something is seems to be better... Of course about a week ago I went to a chinese buffet to find foods I could taste and I actually did find a couple different  dumplings and what not that did, and I also went to the whole foods food bar and tried 7-8 different healthy foods and none of them had any taste to them whatsoever so its really a hit or miss sort of thing... 
> 
> today I will try to have some milk and cereal and see if my gf can make me some wet type of thin pancake.. natural maple syrup seems to be ok.. In addition I can smell all the foods just fine, which makes it more depressing when you take a bite and get no flavor...
> 
> But everyday can be a different set of challenges... One day milk burned my throat. I havent tried milk since but this is the sort of thing that goes on. Right now I could really go for pancakes and breakfast sausage even though I know theres prob not going to be any flavor.


My oldest brother has had several heart surgeries (Not the same, I know) and after every surgery, he really liked eating watermelon. He said it tasted good and went down easy.

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## Chester Copperpot

> Enjoy your weekend off.  Years ago I fixed dinner for a friend who was going through chemo.  I felt strongly that I should fix certain things and it seemed like there was a lot of citrus in the menu.  But when I got to her house, she could not have been more delighted because during her chemo lemon was one of the only things that tasted good to her.  
> 
> I guess it's different for everyone.  I hope you have an easy time finding foods and drinks that taste good to you.  And happy birthday.


yes it seems different for everyone.. when I went to the chinese buffet last week i squeezed a wedge of fresh lime into my mouth and the juice was good... now it might burn my throat so i have to be careful.  that was a nice story about your friend and thank you for the birthday wishes

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## Chester Copperpot

> My oldest brother has had several heart surgeries (Not the same, I know) and after every surgery, he really liked eating watermelon. He said it tasted good and went down easy.


watermelon would probably be fantastic.. at the buffet last week it was one of the fresh fruits there and it was good... theres just not alot of calories in fruit to sustain oneself.. but ive always enjoyed watermelon

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## Carlybee

> Another comment about dry drinks for a minute... The past week or so my gf actually found TANG the old drink mix they used to advertise that the astronauts drank.
> 
> Now get this... I get some water and put in some tang and taste nothing... but as I add more and more tang to the water it seems like im adding sand... Tang is too dry to drink.
> 
> Where some other drink might be perfectly fine.
> 
> A drink that might be okay on a monday isnt okay 2 days later.... But so far Ensure has been pretty steadfast.
> 
> I thought the Tang experience was almost comical and its why I wanted to share it.


Do you think you could drink Pedialyte? It's for babies but it's purpose is to hydrate.

Sending prayers for your continued recovery and comfort.

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## MelissaWV

Ensure's a big thing for patients recovering from anything involving the throat or their ability to swallow; it's a given for stroke patients.

Have you tried something along the lines of polenta or chowders?  I know milk burned your throat but am wondering if soups might be a way of getting calories into you.  

Even though you said you like the taste of Ensure (which is a sure sign something is definitely wrong), you might look up recipes on how to make Ensure taste better if only to see the variety of things you can do to vary the taste.

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## Chester Copperpot

> Do you think you could drink Pedialyte? It's for babies but it's purpose is to hydrate.
> 
> Sending prayers for your continued recovery and comfort.


to be honest i would try anything... but it gets depressing as far as foods are concerned... tonight i got a little lucky with some lean cuisine swedish meatballs and noodles... the egg noodles didnt really have any flavor and they were in a sauce that made swallowing ok...and it didnt burn my throat so thats all good...

i would try pedialyte sure... hydrating is very important.. water is ok too.. cold water is refreshing and soothing to the throat

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## Chester Copperpot

> Ensure's a big thing for patients recovering from anything involving the throat or their ability to swallow; it's a given for stroke patients.
> 
> Have you tried something along the lines of polenta or chowders?  I know milk burned your throat but am wondering if soups might be a way of getting calories into you.  
> 
> Even though you said you like the taste of Ensure (which is a sure sign something is definitely wrong), you might look up recipes on how to make Ensure taste better if only to see the variety of things you can do to vary the taste.


i tried some turkey gumbo today.. it wasnt too bad except i couldnt eat much of it.  I didnt know they had recipeson how to make Ensure taste better... id be curious to see something like that

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## Chester Copperpot

> Ensure's a big thing for patients recovering from anything involving the throat or their ability to swallow; it's a given for stroke patients.
> 
> Have you tried something along the lines of polenta or chowders?  I know milk burned your throat but am wondering if soups might be a way of getting calories into you.  
> 
> Even though you said you like the taste of Ensure (which is a sure sign something is definitely wrong), you might look up recipes on how to make Ensure taste better if only to see the variety of things you can do to vary the taste.


i did try some chowder the other day.. from bar harbor it wasnt too bad but i meant to try it cold out of the can.. its kind of weird that colder foods can taste better

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## donnay

Just make sure the pedialyte doesn't have aspartame.

Have you tried smoothies?

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## Chester Copperpot

> Just make sure the pedialyte doesn't have aspartame.
> 
> Have you tried smoothies?


i have not tried smoothies...

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## MelissaWV

> Just make sure the pedialyte doesn't have aspartame.
> 
> Have you tried smoothies?


This links back to my earlier post   There are numerous recipes using cold/frozen Ensure and fresh berries to make smoothies.

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## donnay

> i have not tried smoothies...


Here are some pretty decent recipes--plus you can add Turmeric to them.

25 Delectable Detox Smoothies
http://www.prevention.com/food/25-de...etox-smoothies

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## Chester Copperpot

> Just make sure the pedialyte doesn't have aspartame.
> 
> Have you tried smoothies?


not for nothing donna but right now if aspartame made food taste good, id be chugging that $#@!

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## Suzanimal

Have you tried some cold soups?

http://www.countryliving.com/food-dr...led-soup-0809/

Or Buttermilk and cornbread? It's yummy and high in calories.

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## Chester Copperpot

> Have you tried some cold soups?
> 
> http://www.countryliving.com/food-dr...led-soup-0809/
> 
> Or Buttermilk and cornbread? It's yummy and high in calories.


i decided last night to stop worrying about finding food that taste good and instead just to use my feeding tube.. the search for food was always a let down and it would leave me depressed and lethargic... last night i started getting  a headache... so I decided to say screw it and use the feeding tube.. im finally getting nutrients my body has needed in awhile and i feel much better mentally.. so thats going to be that... ill still take ensure when i want or drink water and if i want to try something i always can but im no longer going to set up a dozen different foods only to be let down by them all..

this will eventually pass  and when my taste comes back i will certainly have a new respect for flavors and food in general.

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## Suzanimal

> i decided last night to stop worrying about finding food that taste good and instead just to use my feeding tube.. the search for food was always a let down and it would leave me depressed and lethargic... last night i started getting  a headache... so I decided to say screw it and use the feeding tube.. im finally getting nutrients my body has needed in awhile and i feel much better mentally.. so thats going to be that... ill still take ensure when i want or drink water and if i want to try something i always can but im no longer going to set up a dozen different foods only to be let down by them all..
> 
> this will eventually pass  and when my taste comes back i will certainly have a new respect for flavors and food in general.


Do what makes you feel better. My MIL was on a feeding tube for awhile and hers looked like chocolate milk. It always made me hungry for a milkshake.

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## donnay

> This links back to my earlier post   There are numerous recipes using cold/frozen Ensure and fresh berries to make smoothies.


These are the ingredients in Ensure:




> Corn Syrup, Corn Maltodextrin, Sugar, Corn Oil, Sodium & Calcium Caseinates, Soy Protein Isolate, *Artificial Flavor*, Potassium Citrate, Magnesium Chloride, Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Citrate. Less than 0.5% of the Following: Potassium Chloride, Soy Lecithin, Ascorbic Acid, Choline Chloride, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Zinc Sulfate, Niacinamide, Ferrous Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Cupric Sulfate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Palmitate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Chromium Chloride, Sodium Molybdate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenate, Phylloquinone, Vitamin D3, and Cyanocobalamin.
> Contains milk and soy ingredients.


The ingredients in Ensure are not, in my humble opinion, very healthy.

The last ingredient, for instance, is B12.  The best bioactive forms of B12 should have methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin to get the maximum benefits.

The Iodine as well-- Potassium Iodide will protect your thyroid from the radiation, but a good Nascent (Atomic) Iodine would be better protection throughout the body.

Sodium & Calcium Caseinates are products of hydrolyzed milk protein and a good way to hide MSG.

I honestly think a Organic smoothie that you make yourself would be much more nutritious to the body.  A good immune system is needed to help fight any disease.

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## donnay

> not for nothing donna but right now if aspartame made food taste good, id be chugging that $#@!


You must be frustrated, I understand.  Just don't give up on finding things that will help you keep your immune system up and that you can tolerate.  How about some immune building herbal tea?  Essiac Tea is an excellent choice.

Essiac Tea Cancer Treatment
https://www.cancertutor.com/essiac/

You're in my prayers.

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## Chester Copperpot

> You must be frustrated, I understand.  Just don't give up on finding things that will help you keep your immune system up and that you can tolerate.  How about some immune building herbal tea?  Essiac Tea is an excellent choice.
> 
> Essiac Tea Cancer Treatment
> https://www.cancertutor.com/essiac/
> 
> You're in my prayers.


before i started treatment i took some essiac..


you have to understand that once you start allopathic treatment you dont want to do something naturopathic that can interfere with the treatment.

for example chemo kills fast growing cells.. if i stayed on an anti cancer diet that kept the cancer from growing all i would be doing is  sabatoging the chemo from working properly... so i wouldnt  take any kind of essiac or anti cancer stuff right now by any means.

this isnt a cancer caused by diet like most are.. its from an exposure to a virus so IMO the answer was not to look to diet.s

the smoothies look good and refreshing.. i might give something like that a try but ill pass on stuff like turmeric

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## donnay

> before i started treatment i took some essiac..
> 
> 
> you have to understand that once you start allopathic treatment you dont want to do something naturopathic that can interfere with the treatment.
> 
> for example chemo kills fast growing cells.. if i stayed on an anti cancer diet that kept the cancer from growing all i would be doing is  sabatoging the chemo from working properly... so i wouldnt  take any kind of essiac or anti cancer stuff right now by any means.
> 
> this isnt a cancer caused by diet like most are.. its from an exposure to a virus so IMO the answer was not to look to diet.s
> 
> the smoothies look good and refreshing.. i might give something like that a try but *ill pass on stuff like turmeric*



Spice of Life: Turmeric Boosts Effects of Chemo in Fighting Tumors 
http://www.livescience.com/35077-ind...py-powder.html

Major component in turmeric spice enhances effect of chemo drug for head, neck cancers
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/th...urmeric-176878

Curcumin - University of Washington
http://depts.washington.edu/integonc...curcumin.shtml

Turmeric info:
http://www.greenmedinfo.com/search/g...ric&gsc.page=1

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## Chester Copperpot

> Spice of Life: Turmeric Boosts Effects of Chemo in Fighting Tumors 
> http://www.livescience.com/35077-ind...py-powder.html
> 
> Major component in turmeric spice enhances effect of chemo drug for head, neck cancers
> http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/th...urmeric-176878
> 
> Curcumin - University of Washington
> http://depts.washington.edu/integonc...curcumin.shtml
> 
> ...


until you have the condition you wont understand. I wouldnt be able to eat turmeric right now even if i wanted to. and im not going to take the chance to have anything interfere with the allopathic treatment.

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## donnay

> until you have the condition you wont understand. I wouldnt be able to eat turmeric right now even if i wanted to. and im not going to take the chance to have anything interfere with the allopathic treatment.


I hope to never have it, but I understand where you are coming from.  I posted the information to point out it has been used with allopathic treatments.

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## Chester Copperpot

Just wanted to give everybody an update:

As of yesterday my treatments are officially over. My last one was actually this past Wednesday but the doctor scoped my throat because like he said when I first came in my tumor was so large he just wanted to make sure I didnt need a little bit more radiation and chemo.  So he checked me out and theres only a small mass at the base which is all necrotic and dead/dying so he said that would/should just resolve itself on its own - and he said I didnt need anymore treatments.

Of course in 3 months Ill get a petscan and that will tell the story. If theres still something there then they will have to do surgery but doctor is confident that the tumor will just totally have died on its own from treatment.

He said my response has been fantastic.

So I'll remain cautiously optimistic until petscan day and just focus on healing myself. And as soon as I can eat solid food again and things start tasting good well look out.

What a new respect for taste and food I have had.. Cant explain it to you. Youd have to go through it.. I wish nobody here has to.

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## Natural Citizen



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## silverhandorder

I just read the OP. Good luck to OP and thank you for the information.

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## Chester Copperpot

> These are the ingredients in Ensure:
> 
> 
> 
> The ingredients in Ensure are not, in my humble opinion, very healthy.
> 
> The last ingredient, for instance, is B12.  The best bioactive forms of B12 should have methylcobalamin and adenosylcobalamin to get the maximum benefits.
> 
> The Iodine as well-- Potassium Iodide will protect your thyroid from the radiation, but a good Nascent (Atomic) Iodine would be better protection throughout the body.
> ...


The prescription food they give you for the feeding tube is Fibersource HN by Nestle.. And is chock full of vitamins and minerals - all synthetic of course. And it provides plenty of protein, carbs, and fat from - get this - SOY PROTEIN, CORN SYRUP, AND CANOLA OIL.

I told my chemo doctor that these are 3 things I NEVER put in my body. and she just kind of smiled and laughed - but she understood my point. However in the case of a chemo patient with a compromised immune system its all sterile and technically everything is there for the body..and I cant complain TOO much because after I took some i felt better myself..

However it has an immense problem with constipation....

But yeah all this food is complete $#@! nutritionally speaking from what we're used to.

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## Suzanimal

> Just wanted to give everybody an update:
> 
> As of yesterday my treatments are officially over. My last one was actually this past Wednesday but the doctor scoped my throat because like he said when I first came in my tumor was so large he just wanted to make sure I didnt need a little bit more radiation and chemo.  So he checked me out and theres only a small mass at the base which is all necrotic and dead/dying so he said that would/should just resolve itself on its own - and he said I didnt need anymore treatments.
> 
> Of course in 3 months Ill get a petscan and that will tell the story. If theres still something there then they will have to do surgery but doctor is confident that the tumor will just totally have died on its own from treatment.
> 
> He said my response has been fantastic.
> 
> So I'll remain cautiously optimistic until petscan day and just focus on healing myself. And as soon as I can eat solid food again and things start tasting good well look out.
> ...



Yaaaaaaaayyyy!!! I'm so glad to hear you're on the road to recovery!!!!

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## donnay

> Just wanted to give everybody an update:
> 
> As of yesterday my treatments are officially over. My last one was actually this past Wednesday but the doctor scoped my throat because like he said when I first came in my tumor was so large he just wanted to make sure I didnt need a little bit more radiation and chemo.  So he checked me out and theres only a small mass at the base which is all necrotic and dead/dying so he said that would/should just resolve itself on its own - and he said I didnt need anymore treatments.
> 
> Of course in 3 months Ill get a petscan and that will tell the story. If theres still something there then they will have to do surgery but doctor is confident that the tumor will just totally have died on its own from treatment.
> 
> He said my response has been fantastic.
> 
> So I'll remain cautiously optimistic until petscan day and just focus on healing myself. And as soon as I can eat solid food again and things start tasting good well look out.
> ...



Excellent news!  The road to recovery!  I am very happy for you!

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## farreri

> get this - SOY PROTEIN, CORN SYRUP, AND CANOLA OIL.


Corn syrup is not a problem if your diet is low enough in fat, but vegetable oils are pure fat that messes with glucose metabolism which in turns makes sugars, like corn syrup, become detrimental. The most worrisome thing for some who has cancer is that soy protein actually has larger amounts of one of the leading cancer causer than even dairy and meats do; IGF-1.

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## silverhandorder

Just read the thread. Wow OP congratulations on the treatment working.

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## bubbleboy

The title says "my cancer".   I can think of a few better names for your health challenge.   How about "my tumor shrinking journey"   
Its just that "my cancer"  sounds like you have something that belongs to you like your arm or leg.   
get well man.


Oh Im curious if the doctors and nurses say to stay away from sugar, or do they have bowls of candy sitting around the office?    I understand that a dye molecule is attached to sugar because it goes right to the tumor, and then they can see where they are.    Sounds about right to me.

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## Chester Copperpot

> Corn syrup is not a problem if your diet is low enough in fat, but vegetable oils are pure fat that messes with glucose metabolism which in turns makes sugars, like corn syrup, become detrimental. The most worrisome thing for some who has cancer is that soy protein actually has larger amounts of one of the leading cancer causer than even dairy and meats do; IGF-1.


yeah to be honest "corn syrup" isnt as bad as "high fructose corn syrup"  but the only place i know to get that is Karo corn syrup and generally i dont use it enough to warrant buying it

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## Chester Copperpot

> The title says "my cancer".   I can think of a few better names for your health challenge.   How about "my tumor shrinking journey"   
> Its just that "my cancer"  sounds like you have something that belongs to you like your arm or leg.   
> get well man.
> 
> 
> Oh Im curious if the doctors and nurses say to stay away from sugar, or do they have bowls of candy sitting around the office?    I understand that a dye molecule is attached to sugar because it goes right to the tumor, and then they can see where they are.    Sounds about right to me.


Well when I made this thread I dont even kow if i had started treatment..

Anyway, none of the medical staff are schooled in naturopathy so no they dont say to avoid anything... They want you to eat calories no matter the source - candy, McDonalds, fried chicken, etc.. doesnt matter.

In the infusion center they will have candy, cookies, fruit juice etc.. and while most of those things are bad and help feed cancer (And I used to think it outlandish that a chemo dr would give candy to patients)  I now understand that its not really so bad once youre undergoing allopathic treatment.

I stayed on an anti-cancer diet for 7 weeks while the doctors were figuring stuff out and i got my paperwork in order.. and in that time the cancer didnt grow at all (and I lost 60lbs)).. now eating nothing but vegetables 24/7 isnt the healthiest nor tastiest diet but it did what it needed to do.  But once I knew I was going to undergo allopathic treatment I had to go back to a regular diet because I felt the anti-cancer diet would interfere with the treatment.

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## Chester Copperpot

Just wanted to give everybody an update.. Today was basically my final followup post treatment.... Im officially cancer free. Had a terrific response to the allopathic treatment and just wanted to thank everybody for their prayers and kind words. Hopefully my taste buds and saliva glands will continue to improve so I can enjoy food again but its one of those things they say that require patience..

Thank you to everybody once again.

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## euphemia

What awesome news!  Praying you will remain cancer free.

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## Chester Copperpot

> What awesome news!  Praying you will remain cancer free.


Thank you... Prayers are always good. I will say a prayer for you tonight as well.

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## Brian4Liberty

> Just wanted to give everybody an update.. Today was basically my final followup post treatment.... Im officially cancer free. Had a terrific response to the allopathic treatment and just wanted to thank everybody for their prayers and kind words. Hopefully my taste buds and saliva glands will continue to improve so I can enjoy food again but its one of those things they say that require patience..
> 
> Thank you to everybody once again.


Great news!

Glad you are able to eat. My mother in law had a throat tumor, and she wanted the maximum dose of radiation to really kill it. Unfortunately, it left her permanently unable to swallow, not even water. The doctors did not warn her that could happen.

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## Zippyjuan

Fantastic! Welcome back to the human race!

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## Chester Copperpot

> Fantastic! Welcome back to the human race!


Thanks Zip.. I appreciate that especially from you because I know we dont see eye to eye on most things and argue alot over politics. But when it comes down to it youre a decent guy as am I.

I tip my hat to you.

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