Recipes for a Cancer Patient

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My FIL has recently been diagnosed with Lung Cancer and he has lost his appetite and no longer likes to eat the foods he once loved.

These days he would like to eat more healthy (more than he usually did) and organic food. He is also a diabetic patient and really watches his sugar intake.

It makes me sad that his appetite is poor, and I would like to make him food that be would be good for him and he would really eat. He does like fresh soup and veggies.

Please post recipes that you have used that would benefit him.

Thank you very much!

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Re: Recipes for a Cancer Patient

Make some chicken both.... Freeze it in batches

Take some butter, sautee oats in it... Add yakhni and a chip from a stock cube (for added taste).

Cook it in the chicken broth until ready. Consistency is upto fil's liking

They need a lot of fiber in their diets.

We honestly ran outta ideas for soups and would sometimes give mil cup a soups.... Cuz she couldnt eat a whole lot and frwshly made soup was going to a waste.... Its very hard making 1 bowl of a diff kinda soup twic a day!

I used chicken broth as a base for a lot of mil's food.... Cuz its ultra healthy... Also cuz mil just couldnt eat meat... So broth got all the goodness out

Try milkshakes and smoothies...they are filling....

My mil is also a diabetic and the dr suggested she conti ue taking her medicine but to not go crazy being on the look out for sugars...as when u are under trratment for cancer, u need all the energy u can get.... So mil doesnt eat cookies etc... But otherwise anything goes...

U can feed him bulgur with veggies ...again use chicken broth as a base... Or use a veggy stock cube... Mil used to love tjat.

There will come phases. Mil started off fine woth roti salan... Then came the no roti only bread... No salan at all... Then she started liking soups but that also nearly killed her cuz she lost fiber intake and tjat led to diarrhea and vomiting even more. So just soups is a nono. (again, diff type of cancer, diff somutions)

So one day they will love one thing, the next day hate it.

Oh and sanwiches.... Just go crazy.... I pre bpiled chcicken and used to keep it stored in the fridge.... But nothing too old... 2 days max. Make any kinda dressing and add chicken to it...

Also eggs,.... Makeit a part of his diet... Tjere is tis one kind i make... Boil the instant noodles... Mix up an omlette however fil likes it... Add the noodles to it and co tiue as u would cooking a rwfular omlette... Its filling.

Itherwise... Nothing too out of the ordinary... Just nothing thats been sitting in the fridge for a week and limnit frozen food.

All the best!

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Re: Recipes for a Cancer Patient

This is how we prepared meals for my Aboo Jaan.

Salt and sugar are a big no for cancer patients. Cancer cells feed off of sugar and multiply and salt makes body retain water and makes it hard for the kidneys to function and you need your kidneys to function properly to get rid of toxins from your body.

So, this is the diet we were following for him. Like khawa said use broth of chicken or goat and try to prepare fresh.....prepared frozen food are not good as well. For example take a chicken divide it in 16 pieces karahi style cut and now divide the chicken 4 separate ziploc and put 4 pieces in each. Take out a packet for daily use. Use oatmeal in the broth and add vegetables and give it a soupy consistency. All the items you use should not be instant things....for example use regular oats than instant oats etc.

We use to give him fresh fruits and vegetable juices several times a day. Use the veggies and fruits that have anti cancer properties. Carrots, blueberries strawberries flax seeds basil, parsley.

Give him fish. Salads......as much as organic and raw form of fruits and veggies are very beneficial.....

We took great care of my father's dietary needs and he looked great even at the very end....sadly Allah ko Kuch aur hi manzoor thaaaa....
I don't mean to digress your thread but I am heartbroken when its anything about cancer....death...etc all I want to do is talk about Aboo........

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Re: Recipes for a Cancer Patient

Afshi,
In terms of coaxing the appetite, our experience so far has been thus;
Nothing heavy, nothing that smells strong, nothing too spicy, nothing oily.

Mixed daal; moong, urad, chana,black gram, red kidney beans. Stick them in the pressure cooker or boil them. Add a tarka of spring onions and ginger.

Masoor daal: orange & yellow lentils; with a tarka of finely chopped spinach, garlic and ginger.
In both of these the only spices I use are pomegranate powder and both cumin seeds and cumin powder.
He can't manage heavy rotis, so I make them very very thin and soft.
Thin, smooth karhi, and sambhar have gone down well too.

A tiny bit of a simple achar of ginger and lemon in white vinegar, helps motivate him into wanting to eat too.Some thinly sliced cucumber with a hint of lemon helps with the nausea.
Try and get him to eat lots of fresh, crispy spinach.

Drinks. He can't stomach plain milk, so I give him lots of lassi (without salt).
Fresh juices; I don't have my recipe folder to hand at the minute but I'll put some up for you tomorrow.
Fennel tea
Wheatgrass juice - I can't recommend this enough, it has helped put some colour back into his cheeks.

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Re: Recipes for a Cancer Patient

Oh and i firgot.... This juice an aunty swore by ... Claimed it helped her with her cancer fighting.... Who k ows... Doesnt hurt... Used to give it to mil too.... Tastes like feet but is said to be ubber healthy

Carrot, beetroot and apple juice, mixed together.

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Re: Recipes for a Cancer Patient

oh wow..thanks guys.

this is great.

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Re: Recipes for a Cancer Patient

Juices.

Pomegranate:
1 pomegranate to 2 apples.
or
1 pomegranate to 1 orange.

Beet:
½ of a normal size Beet including the greens
1 pound of carrots
½ of a cucumber (peeled)
or
½ of a normal size Beet including the greens
2 pounds of carrots
1 apple

Carrot:
2 pounds of carrots
2 oranges
1 inch of fresh ginger