• Registered: Sat, 17 Apr 2010
  • Posts: 655

Topic: Advice please

I'd like to start my Dad on some supplements but i'm confused with where to start.  I've so far read that Maitake Mushroom capsules, Pomegranate, Omega 3 and Milk thistle are recommended.

Will any of these interfere with his Chemo?

Has anyone tried or has experience with any of the above helping?

Can anyone recommend anything else?

We would also like to change his diet but at the moment he needs to put on some weight and whilst he has an appetite think it's best to let him eat what he wants.  He has trouble gaining weight due to the removal of part of his colon a few years ago when he had colon cancer.

Any advice would be appreciated.  Thank you

Devoted Daughter to the most wonderful Dad a girl could ask for.  Sadly lost his battle on 19.02.11, peacefully in the arms of Mom and I.  As requested by Dad "we will keep on smiling".
  • Gavin
  • Gavin
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  • From: Scotland - Dundee
  • Registered: Tue, 23 Sep 2008
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Re: Advice please

Hi Andie,

Have you spoken with your dads oncologist about starting your dad on any of these supplements to see what he/she thinks as to it interfering with his chemo? I mentioned milk thistle to my dads Macmillan nurse after he had his PDT and she felt it best to talk with his specialist before trying anything like that. But in the end he never gave it a try.

Has your dad tried something like Ensure drinks as a supplement to help put on weight? My dad was discharged from the hospital with a prescription for them for a while and they really helped him. He found it pretty easy just to have one of them to drink with each meal and he thought they tasted okay. Perhaps you could speak with your dads GP to see if he could try them? My mum has COPD and needs to put on wieght and she has a Skandiashake mix once a day along with her meals and that is helping her right now. But again, that is on prescription.

Best wishes

Gavin

  • Lainy
  • Lainy
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  • From: Phoenix AZ
  • Registered: Fri, 13 Jan 2006
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Re: Advice please

Andie, if you go to the top of the page and click on our Search Engine and type in Nutrition you will be sure to get some answers. I do echo Gavin in saying whatever you decide on talk to the Doctor in charge first.

Teddy ~In our hearts forever~ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING
Any suggestion I offer is intended as friendly advice based solely on my own experience. Please consult your doctor for professional guidance.
  • Registered: Sat, 17 Apr 2010
  • Posts: 655

Re: Advice please

Thank you both, I will speak to Dads Doctor first.

Gavin, my Dad has been prescribed Ensure Juce drinks.  He had a walk down the paper shop yesterday, the first time since he came out of hospital Friday and I must say he looked better after having some fresh air on him.  His appetite is still big, Mom said she will need an extra benefit just to feed him lol!

Thank you both for your advice.

Best wishes

Devoted Daughter to the most wonderful Dad a girl could ask for.  Sadly lost his battle on 19.02.11, peacefully in the arms of Mom and I.  As requested by Dad "we will keep on smiling".
  • Gavin
  • Gavin
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Re: Advice please

Hi Andie,

I hope your dad will continue to enjoy his walks in the morning to the paper shop and this is something that my dad enjoyed every day. No matter if sun, rain or how cold, first thing every morning he used to go out for the rolls and the paper and the fresh air did him the world of good. And a bit of very light exercise never did him any harm either!

I hope the Ensure does the job for your dad. Did his doctor say how long he wants your dad to use it for? My dad only used it for a couple of months after hospital, then went back to his usual eating with his appetite being the same as your dads in that it was quite substantial!

Best wishes,

Gavin

  • Registered: Sat, 17 Apr 2010
  • Posts: 655

Re: Advice please

Hi Gavin

I think he will only be on the Ensure for a month or two.  His appetite is as it has always been but because of my Dads previous history with Colon Cancer it takes him a while to put weight back on, so hopefully the extra calories in the drinks will help him. 

We have a lady coming to visit him to sort out his benefits as he has decided to leave work.  He keeps using the word 'terminal' which is upsetting to hear but he still has his fighting spirit. 

Some days I feel like I can't be strong anymore and just want to have a good cry. I think once his yellowness has gone it won't be so bad.  We have booked an hol to Florida next May and I keep having moments thinking should I cancel it incase I'm needed here, then I keep thinking will Dad still be here.  My husband said we will worry about that nearer the time and if my Dad knew what I was thinking he'd go mad.  Suppose we all have our bad days.

Oh well better get some house work done!

Best Wishes

Devoted Daughter to the most wonderful Dad a girl could ask for.  Sadly lost his battle on 19.02.11, peacefully in the arms of Mom and I.  As requested by Dad "we will keep on smiling".
  • Gavin
  • Gavin
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Re: Advice please

Hi Andie,

A month or two on the Ensure sounds like the same plan my dad had and it was enough for him to get his weight back to a level his doctor was happy with. This combined with a healthy appetite from your dad should hopefully do the trick for him.

I would imagine that your dads claim for DLA should go through with no problems at all and I think the highest level is about

  • Registered: Sat, 17 Apr 2010
  • Posts: 655

Re: Advice please

Thanks Gavin.

Just been to see dad and he's put on 3Ib since saturday!!  He's had his hair cut and apart from his yellowness he is looking alot brighter.

Yes it is a lady from the benefits office who will be coming down to help Dad sort his claim out.  Dad hasn't been offered the services of a macmillan nurse yet, perhaps that will change when he starts his chemo.

Take care

Devoted Daughter to the most wonderful Dad a girl could ask for.  Sadly lost his battle on 19.02.11, peacefully in the arms of Mom and I.  As requested by Dad "we will keep on smiling".
  • From: London
  • Registered: Fri, 28 Aug 2009
  • Posts: 1,058

Re: Advice please

Glad to hear your dad's gaining weight & feeling/looking brighter, Andie.

I endorse what Gavin has said about your dad having a Mac Nurse.  My sister has one & she is WONDERFUL.

Thinking of you.

Julia

Missing my lovely sister ...

"When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars" - Lee Salk

Lalupes's Website

10 Reply by KentuckyJack (edited by KentuckyJack Tue, 18 May 2010 14:40:03)

  • Registered: Wed, 07 Apr 2010
  • Posts: 73

Re: Advice please

Andie:  I take Coriolus (Versicolor) Mushroom extract, Silymarin (a form of milk thistle extract), pomegranate, and Omega 3s.  I  first discovered the milk thistle in Jean Carper's book "Miracle Cures"--where she identified it as the prescribed cure for liver toxicity to poisonous mushrooms in Germany.  Versicolor (Coriolus mushroom) extract, on the other hand, I have been told is the number one prescribed treatment for cancer in Japan.

Suffice it to say, I take many vitamins, minerals, herbals, and other supplements, some on advice from a Naturopathic Physician (N.D.) at Life Extension Foundation.  (And some I choose to take against his advice!) Right now, my tumor is shrinking probably due to the chemotherapy treatments from my "regular" oncologist, and due to the naturopathic supplementation.

For good advice and guidance on supplementation the "Miracle Cures" book by Jean Carper and the Life Extension Foundation are my main sources.  You might want to check them out on your search engine.  Good luck, and may God Bless you in your efforts.

Note:  I'd say more, but the prospect of facing charges of practicing medicine without a license limits my boldness!!