A friend of mine, her husband was treated for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with standard care-- eight cycles of R-CHOP followed by radiation. He was treated at Kaiser in California. The advice they gave him as he went into chemo was simple: On the day he received his infusions, they suggested he go to McDonalds or In-and-Out afterwards and eat fast-food hamburgers. His wife says "in six months, he never had a problem with nausea."
This was completely new to me. Has anyone else heard of this or been told this by their oncologists?
Sry you got the flu. Hope you are better quickly. I've had a cold for weeks, and decided at this point, it's allergies.
I never heard of eating fast food to counteract nausea a la chemo. I have heard of eating fast food and getting nauseous. :)
I never felt any nausea from the R-CHOP treatment. Soo...maybe the individual would not have gotten sick anyway.
Geri-
your conclusion is kind of the way I'm leaning as well, although there must be something to the advice since it's clearly something that has been 'learned' by Kaiser docs, or other docs, and passed on this way.
Who knows-- while it definitely seems counter-intuitive (as you noted, fast food is more associated with nausea than not), maybe the preservatives or the fat or something going on there has a curious anti-emetic quality.
Well here I am…your test case! I was never told this it was just something my body craved but 29 years ago I was recieving treatments in Rochester, Minn and immediately after each treatment on the way home I would stop and get McDonald’s french fries. I had a 3 hour drive daily to get home and even tho my throat hurt so bad I could hardly eat I would munch on my fries all the way home, when I finished the fries I would stop at DQ and get a plain vanilla cone and believe it or not I never was nauseated or threw up on any of those trips. I have no stock in either of these chains but it worked for me!! Funny huh?
The grease alone is so hard for your body to digest... I don't see any correlation between nasty food and anti nausea. I would give it a try but the thought is giving me nausea right now.
I'm going to have to side with the nays on this one. However I would be willing to test the theory out. I am starting my chemo next week. I will wait several weeks to see if I have any post chemo nausea and if so I will take one for the team and give this crazy theory a shot.
Thanks Ryan, I hope for the best. Who knows, maybe there's something to this. I have another friend just starting treatment at Kaiser and just asked him if they told him the same thing but haven't heard back.
Ross,
I have never heard of this either. In Fact, they told me to avoid greasy foods for it will upset my stomach. I have a very hard time after chemo so fast food sounds awful to me anyway. I. An only stomach bland foods, fruits and non seasoned meats.
I think this totally depends on the person and what they can handle.
Agreed, D, well put. Everything about the advice is counter-intuitive, and frankly I think it sounds disgusting even though A) I don't have cancer and B) I don't hate fast food ....
My opinion on this: If you have ever had acid reflux or stomach acid problems period - don't try burgers and fries. The day after my 1st chemo I was feeling really good so I had a cheeseburger and small fry on the way to the drs to get my neulasta shot. That night I was belching so badly that it hurt and I wish I could have thrown - up . My acid reflux had been under control for quite sometime, but the chemo seems to be aggravting the stomach acid producing pumps.
Guys,
I did have a really good french dip right after my first chemo session and I did not have any issues with nausea. I know that really does not qualify as "fast food" and at this point I can't tell if I have post-chemo nausea since it was only my first treatment.
Its kind of funny but with my 2nd session scheduled for tomorrow the thought of another french dip makes me feel a bit queasy. I don't think I am going to go that route tomorrow. However, I am still dedicated to testing out this theory. I will see how my nausea is tomorrow without eating anything crazy and we will go from there.
I'm not a good person to ask about eating ANYTHING on treamtnet day - from my third treatment to the last one I was sick from the moment I could taste the chemo (pretty much as soon as it went in) to the day after my treatments were over. They gave me so much Ativan that all I did was sleep and puke during my treatments.
My first reaction is, was the wife actually present and in the room when the oncologists gave him that advice. :) After I had bladder cancer surgery (when I got back to solid food again), I told my wife I needed a slab of BBQ ribs to calm my stomach. Unfortunately, she didn't buy my story. If this guys wife did, more power to him.
However, if she finds out that didn't happen, he may have another trip to hospital coming up. :)
Like Ryan, I too would be willing to be a case study for this clinical trial. Although, I think to really get a good data sample, I'll need a full year of fast-food intake to eliminate any noise from the results.
I have listed my private mailing address for anyone interested in funding this vital research:
Mail check, cash or money order:
Attn: Cardiac Kid
1234 Lard *** Lane
Minneapolis, MN 55303