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Health

 

I have to be honest, even though chemotherapy helped me get rid of the tumour, I strongly believe that if I'd never made drastic changes in my diet, I wouldn't be here today. It has been well known in the media, health books and by most health care professionals that if a person who has had cancer and is undergoing treatment makes changes in their diet, then that person has a better chance of not only surviving cancer but also not gaining secondary cancer or relapsing after treatment (if they maintain healthy eating). 

 

Cancer cells ultimately feed off sugar, and the more sugar a person has, the more chance the cancer will spread and survive. I didn't know anything about this when I was first diagnosed until I saw a private dietitian a few weeks before I started my chemotherapy. The dietitian (which I've sadly forgotten the name of but was based in London) had many experiences with giving healthy menu options to cancer patients and the things he told me about the history and information about cancer cells and what I could do to fight it was a massive eye-opener for me; it made me have this sudden determination that I wasn't going to make this cancer destroy me until I gave it a fight first.   

 

The type of foods/drink I'd had before I was diagnosed.

  • 4 chocolate bars a day

  • Jaffa cakes (dunno how many tbh)

  • Fizzy drinks.

  • Biscuits

  • Ice lollies/ice cream

  • Sweets

  • Chocolate spread

  • Fast Food

  • Red meat

  • Greasy food

​

This (most of the time) happened the same day every day. 

I am not saying in any way that by me consuming these things ultimately made me have cancer; even my doctor/surgeon told me it was just bad luck that I was one of the unfortunate people who got diagnosed. But I will say by having more unhealthy foods in my diet than normal, I believe that it didn't help the situation.

 

However by me saying this, how was I supposed to know?

But I did have some healthy stuff :D 

  • Oranges

  • Grapes

  • Smoothies

  • Squash (drink)

  • Flavoured water (I hate normal water with a passion dunno why xD)

  • Carrots

  • Broccoli

  • Wheat cereal

  •  

And this is as far to an extent as my 'healthy eating' went...and it was only once in a while.  

Now...

I want to take a timeout and mention that I'm not trying to say all sugar is bad and people need to cut it out of their diet immediately or they will get cancer; that would be silly of me. The point I am trying to make is having unnecessary amounts of sugar (especially when you have been diagnosed and you're trying to get rid of the cancer) from my experience and opinion alone is probably not the best idea. I can only speak from my cancer experience alone by saying whenever I went overboard with sugar( I am not exaggerating when I say this) I felt movement in my cheek like something was tingling or moving around inside of my face. I strongly believe this was my body warning me that I've had too much sugar because that was one of the only times it had happened. 

 

 I would be lying if I had said I had 0 sugar whilst I was on chemotherapy because that would be a lie; I still had ice cream, ice lollies, sweets (but not that much and very little) mints and the list goes on. But I made sure I had a great balance of healthy and naughty treats to keep myself mentaly happy (because it was comfort food) but I still followed my healthy diet at the same time so I wasn't doing any damage to all the hard work I put in. 

This next part is the healthy eating menu plan of what my dietitian wanted me to follow throughout my treatment. 

MIND AND BODY CLINIC - Natural Healing (London)

21 days program diet sheet

NO RED MEAT FOR 21 DAYS (3 WEEKS) DURING PARASITE CLEANSE INSTEAD HAVE CHICKEN AND FISH WITH VEG AND SALADS BUT DO NOT HAVE THEM WITH RICE, PASTA, OR POTATOES (STARCHY FOODS)

Morning Green Smoothies

 

Cucumbers

Kale

Spinace leaf

Little ginger

Apples

Pears

Bottled water

Moninga from Holland and Barrett's (1 tablespoon)

 

Spirulina from Holland and Barrett's (1 tablespoon)

 

Chlorella from H and B ( 1 tablespoon)

 

Chlorella from H and B ( 1 tablespoon)

 

Additional juice (apple or favourite juice, except orange)

 

Honey. 

 

I am going to be real with you in saying having the green smoothie combination in the early morning for the first time.... ain't a fun experience at all (lol). But it is necessary because it clears the toxins and all the bad stuff from your body leaving you healthier than you once were. (You will also get used to it through time).

All these are also very great ccancer-fighting ingredients 

Continued Breakfast

 

After half an hour of drinking the green smoothie,

eat chopped fruits with live yoghurt.

 

Important to take PROBIO 7 or high-quality capsule. (H and B). 

Another thing I did in the mornings was follow these mouthcare instructions so the area where the tumor was could be treated as well. 

1st Mouthwash - bottled water in a cup, mixed with seven chalk coal capsules. 

 

I used to use this particular mouthwash after every breakfast, Lunch and Dinner meal. My dietitian told me that not only would this make my teeth whiter but also, it would help get rid of any bacteria that I had after every meal. 

 

 

Aloe vera toothpaste

 

The health benefits of Aleo vera toothpaste is the same as the mouthwash. The main purpose is to eliminate disease/bacteria in the mouth to keep the mouth area more healthy. This toothpaste is also known to have a germ-fighting ability that can clear up anything in the mouth. It's highly recommended. (even if you don't have osteosarcoma in the gum)

 

 

2nd Mouthwash - bicarbonate of soda (two spoon fulls in a glass of water).

 

This particular mouthwash is also good for gum disease, mouth ulcers and teeth whitening.   

Lunch 

Chicken/Fish with Veg and/or Salad

Or Carbohydrates

These are starchy foods like rice, potatoes, pasta etc. 

These should be with veg and/or salad and not with high proteins like chicken or fish. 

 Dinner/ After Dinner

 

Anything that is chicken/fish with vegetables or salad. 

After dinner, it is also recommended (if you are trying to put on weight) to have chicken, vegetable or fish soup. 

Or even some more healthy smoothies or fruit. 

Snacks/ Drink 

​Everything that I ate between/after every meal was always low in sugar but still enjoyable for me to eat. 

SNACKS 

.Raisens

 

. Oranges/tangerines

 

. Apples 

 

.Grapes

 

Banana

 

Strawberry

 

Peach 

IMPORTANT: Red grapes have seeds that are filled with 'superantioxidant activin' which is an effective cancer-fighting chemical that can be found in the grapes themselves but also, red wine.  

DRINK 

.Plenty of water! (to wash out all the toxins and etc left in your body)

 

 

. Lemon water in the morning/sometimes throughout the day.

 

 

Lemon water includes Vitamin C,   destroys malignant cells in wide range of cancers whilst also, having antibactiral and antiviral benefits as well.  

 

 

Green Tea

 

 

Green Tea has a special antioxidant called EGCG. This blocks enzymes that help grow cancer cells in our body and stops the process completely. EGCG also creates cellular proteins that make it very difficult for cancer cells to grow. I had this special tea almost every night during treatment. 

 

 

Ginger Tea 

 

This is also an effective cancer-fighting tea. 

 

However, even though I did follow my healthy diet plan all throughout my treatment, I have no shame in saying I did have a few 'guilty pleasures' and 'naughty' moments when I should have just stood by my healthy menu. For example, halfway through my treatment (when my face started to go down and I was feeling positive about myself) I did start to have hot chocolate again, ice cream (low-fat and vegan), mints, squash, cans of pop (that I had no more than once a day), popcorn, crips and for once in a while red meat and cake. 

 

I didn't feel too guilty about having these sorts of things; not only was it not every single day I had these 'cheat days' but also knowing that I was still eating healthy and following my diet plan, made me feel a lot better about myself. This was because I had the sensible balance of the food that I wanted to eat, to the food that was good for me.  

REAL TALK: 

 

To the people who have had cancer and have experienced chemotherapy, I know that when you are at your lowest you might not be in the mood to eat healthy all the time; it takes a lot of time, effort and mental strength (especially when most of the time you throw up everything you consume) to be able to push all that aside and have a healthy diet.

 

That is why if you are reading this and you are starting chemotherapy, are in the middle of treatment or you have just finished. I would say don't feel guilty eating things that you (yourself) like and enjoy; if it makes you happy and if you still have the sensible balance of the things you like and the healthy stuff that your body needs then you shouldn't feel bad at all :)

IMPORTANT: 

If you are struggling to come up with some healthy food menus or ideas look up: @foodsthatfightcancer on Instagram. (even if you dont like fruit or veg that much their page will make you rethink your opinion ;) ). 

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