Good food, bad food?

CHAPTER 4 When it comes to cancer or just life, types of diets are one of the most controversial subjects that dominate our lives. Good food, bad food? It’s very confusing.

After all we focus on eating three times a day in theory. It shouldn’t really take up that much time, but it actually does and when your body is out of sync and you are grasping at straws, suddenly food becomes a central part of your daily routine. Much more so than ever before. I used to think I had a cast iron stomach and could eat anything I wanted to whenever I felt like it. What a luxury. I always followed what I thought was a healthy regime – we all instinctively know what healthy food is, being bombarded all our lives from all directions with theories. Lots of fruit and greens, vegetables – meats having become a controversial subject, and nowadays so many different systems like Keto, Paleo raw vegan, plain vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian etc. etc. and a good, old-fashioned ‘balanced diet’.

Then cancer hit recently and things got a lot less simple and straight forward. This is entirely my own personal journey. I am grappling with what to do to get better and is definitely not dietary advice to anyone.

Unintentional weight loss

Slight panic set in when I realized that what I was putting into my body was more important than ever before. When you get a cancer diagnosis the NHS gives you access to dietary advice in the form of a dietitian. In my case it is a lovely young woman with a masters in cancer nutrition or something along those lines. I had lost a lot of weight quite rapidly over recent months and the doctors were worried about me losing any more weight. I had gradually lost some weight over the past year or so and I thought it was because I’ve got into some better habits when our fridge broke over 18 months ago and sardines on toast or a bowl of homemade vegetable soup were great dinner options. Gordon eats very little and neither of us feel pressure to cook a meal, so we kind of just ate when we were hungry.

I started losing weight quite gradually but then it carried on. I had no idea that ‘unintentional’ weight loss was a bad sign. That apparently, is one huge sign to look out for. Fast forward a couple of months and doctors were telling me I had to stabilize my weight in fact put ON some weight (music to my ears – I never thought I’d hear that!) I have lost about 10kgs. My Appetite has definitely gone down and I don’t really feel much like eating most of the time. I used to love food but my body went into malnutrition mode because of the huge tumour on the head of the pancreas and the nutrients weren’t being absorbed – I didn’t know. I have to take Creon, an enzyme supplement – forever now I think, with each meal or snack I have. Tricky to remember every time I open my mouth!

So initially a balanced diet was recommended but I wanted to explore a more in-depth programme tailored just to me and what’s going on in my body. Enter nutritionist Ryre Lee Cornish who came to some of my South African women’s networking groups years ago. I just loved her and wished I had a reason to go and see her… I do now! Together with my blood tests, stool tests, saliva tests, we’re putting together a profile of supplements and foods that my body specifically needs to support my immunity.

The pee bottle

Part of the testing in hospital was an interesting one, a 24-hour pee collection. I was given a 5 L plastic container and asked to pee into it for 24 hours. My lovely nurse at the time, Megan took me up to the pathology lab at Kingston hospital to collect this bottle, which is something you usually use to fill up with petrol when you run out. She said don’t worry no one has ever filled this thing. Anyway I gave it a go and it came with me wherever I went for 24 hours including a lovely tennis game with some friends and halfway through I had to go to the loo and drag this thing with me of course. By the time the 24 hours was up and I had to return it to the pathology lab it was about 2 inches from the top quite close for comfort, I thought, but I couldn’t believe that I had produced so much urine in the 24 hours. Quite an eye-opener. This needs to be repeated a couple of times a year. No much to ask.

My pee bottle, on the tennis court with Emma and the supplements I take each day

Restrictions

Anyway, back to Ryre who gave me a very comprehensive questionnaire to fill out and we were on our way. Like all of us I was sort of so self-subscribing and listening to all sorts of suggestions from well-meaning sources. Now I felt it was much more focused on what my body actually needed and was lacking. ‘We’ are currently trying to cut out all sugar, easing down on dairy and keeping things gluten-free. I was following mainly vegetarian diet before but the advice has been to eat a little meat very occasionally and to try wherever possible to keep it organic. Finding organic veg too, where possible, as most common veg like tomatoes, spinach, celery and others have a lot of pesticide residue.

I find it very difficult to make a radical change like this but when your health is at stake you tend to focus the mind. Little or no alcohol as my liver is also at serious risk too. This I don’t find a problem as I hardly drink anyway and feel so much better for it. Between the NHS and Ryre, I’m in great hands.

On my way

Fast forward some weeks and my gut and saliva tests are back with Ryre. Very comprehensive results of every type of bacteria, pathogen, flora etc recorded. Some good results and some not so good. It’s clear my immunity needs a lot of support with the right food and some carefully considered supplements. It’s very detailed and scientific. Yay, no yeast and no pathogens – so celebrating small (big?) mercies!

So, between ‘balanced diet’ and Ryre’s strict protocol I have to make so much more of an effort to find something tasty to eat whereas before I would just snack on things I really liked. That’s not so simple anymore but we are what we eat, they say…