diet for throat radiation

My dad who is 84, has tongue cancer and finshed his 7th week, he has kept his weight steady and the dr. says he is his poster child, because he is doing so well. Keeping the calorie content is the key along with what you can swallow. He drinks shakes like the bodybuilders do every night and they have blueberries in them which is a great antitoxant, he has a banana one at lunch for the potassuim which dips with treament. He had peanut butter in there too but towards the endn it as too hard to swallow, strawberries were good at first too, but those are actually more acidic than you think and so those were out soon also. I blend all his food, we have tofu pudding, it has protein it in, he has scrambled eggs with butter and half and half (extra calories) I put butter in his soup or olive oil, the fat won't clog his ateries enough in a few weeks to do much damage anyhow. The best thing I found (although he can't have tomato sauce, it kills him, we are Italian) is shitaki noodles made from tofu (more protein) They are very slippery and easy to swallow, he has them with alfredo sauce or veletta like macaroni and cheese. They can be thrown in soup or eaten with butter too. They are sold at Sprouts, Wild Oats and some health food places. They fill him up and because he has Menuieres disease (an inner ear problem) sugar, salt and caffeine trigger attacks, where he passes out, vomits or gets so dizzy he can't stand. He has had this for 40 years. So along with the soft bland diet, I can only made everything from scratch since canned broth, even the low sodium is too salty, and any processed foods are loaded with salt and sugar. He can't have sugar and has to watch the carbs which turn into sugar. I have cooked for many people with health problems ...father in law with kidny failure, low fat, low carb, diabetic, low protein, migraine diets... you name it.... but this by far was the absolute hardest. My dad even had to give up the oatmeal waffles I make him last weekend... boy was he mad! This last week has been the worst, since it is hard to be creative with only a few different food items! But he is an unbelieveable tropper and at the dr. offices always credits me with keeping him alive and kicking.

Karin 

I have throat cancer found in my right  tonsil, had 35 radiation treatments, 25 on all the throat 10 on the right side . Lived on mashed potatoes covered in cream corn,  vanilla yogurt helping to swallow pills, breakfast was cream of wheat, grits, plain oatmeal with 2% milk, in fact still do but now have added different kinds like peach and cream, berries, brown sugar. Treatments stopped 6 months ago and am slowly progressing to include hamburger, boiled weiners, sausages, chicken and fish. I also add a can of Ensure a day to add calories. Have lost 45 lbs but feel great. Got my energy back. The only drawback are the phlegms which are worse at night but not so bad during the day. I can now eat spices that are mild and tasted spaghetti and tomato juice and back to my orange juice in the morning. things do get better but you have to have patience. Remember also that every person and case is  different.

I am 82 years old, and the oncologist told me at my last exam that there was no cancer there presently. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck to your father. 

Terry 

There may be a few more food options than you think.  You have to get creative and make the blender work overtime. There is little to no dietary information out there for soft foods or people with swallowing problems.

 The medical community does not seem to know anything other than jello and applesauce. I cannot do either. Their only solution is a  feeding tube. Plenty of processed chemicals and corn syrup. 8 years of college plus and that is the best they have to offer???   I may not have a diploma to hang on the wall

 I cannot really relate to the swallowing problems caused by radiation. I had radiation for cancer of the larynx in 98 but radiation did not cause any swallowing problems. In late 07 cancer came back. I believe I lost about everything you can loose in the neck and survive. I have a hole in my neck for breathing and some days its difficult just to hold my head up.  I lost the tongue so I've learned a lot about eating from a blender. When you loose the tongue you cannot eat, no way to place food for chewing but even if you managed to chew it there is no way to swallow .  I do not have the sodium sugar problem so eating for me is a little easier.  Liquify everything in the blender suck it up with a 60cc syringe and squirt it down the throat, end of swallowing problem.  Radiation was 18 months ago and tomato products still burn on the way down. It may burn a little but tomato soup made from fresh tomatoes a couple ounces of salmon and a good chunk of cheese makes a great soup.  Stew, from roast beef, potatoes and veggies works great. Basicly any fresh meat a few potatoes maybe a veggie or two and gravy. I cannot chew or swallow but have found meat and veggies is no problem.  About 6 ounces meat and veggies 2-3 ounces gravy and 4-6 ounces of milk, blend well and drink.  After a lot of trial and error I found that the key to meat is gravy. It makes it blend up smoother taste better and go down easier. Pasta or rice and veggies in milk is not too bad. I do a lot of cereals. Shredded Wheat ground up in the blender before adding milk add a well ripened bananna to sweeten. Only brand name I know is Hodgson mills they make a Cracked Wheat Cereal its kind of in between oatmeal and cream of wheat.  Everything I have mentioned is 0 salt and 0 sugar.   As you may know even plain oatmeal has a small amount of sugar.

Play with the blender and get creative. You may be suprised how easy it is to come up with something different that still tastes good.

I lost 30 pounds during my whole 35 radiaton treatments for a 1.5 centimeter squamous on my tonsil scar tissue.  I went from about 146 to 116, then 110 and now 105.  I am eating as many soft foods as I can,  mac and cheese peanut butter thinned out with olive oil and added powdered almonds.  I eat ice cream,  baked custard, homemade chicken soup. But I still am slowly losing.  I was not really heavy when I started treatment.  5' 6' at 146pd. They wanted me to bulk up and I tried but could not gain an extra pound before treatment.  I guess people who are very overeweight have a better outcome.I am going to go back on my Carnation instant Breakfast drinks that I have to special order.  Before they made my mucous so bad that I gagged. But now the mucous is almost gone. Doctor said I have just one mucous scab that is still healing. Nights lately have been bad while this last scab is healing. I take Advil pm just to get some sleep as the last of the mocous gives me a hacking cough until I cough it up.   Radiation treatments to me are medeivel torture and I would have just said no if I had only known. Although I may be lucky enough to have my salivary glands grow back because I was on the Tomo radiation machine.  The thought of never having saliva again, and having to wash down all my food with big glugs of water just makes me depressed. It makes no sense to kill a cancer with a treatment that may give you a secondary cancer further down the road. I am going to take my yoga back up to try and get some peace of mind and a better attitude. I am thankful for my improvement. But I miss eating so many foods that I loved, toast, bacon and tomato sauce.  Also my appetite is 1/4 what it was.  Seeing my primary physician on Monday.  Also does everyone with this type throat radiation end up on thyroid meds eventually.  No one has told me anything.   Thanks