One of the most frustrating symptoms for people who are undergoing treatment for mesothelioma and other types of cancer is nausea. Thankfully, anti-nausea medications, often called anti-emetics, can keep the worst of treatment-related vomiting at bay. Even so, many people complain of lingering nausea associated with their cancer treatments. To tackle nausea, you need to be creative with nutrition. By picking the right foods and eating them in certain ways, you can lessen your nausea and make meals and snacks more appealing again.
Medical Management is Key
The most important thing to remember when dealing with nausea is that medication is your first-line defense. Nutrition works best, in conjunction with proper medical management of nausea and vomiting. Plus, it’s much easier to prevent nausea and vomiting than it is to treat them once they occur. It really is true that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. If your doctor or nurse gives you a set schedule for taking your medication, stick to it. Even if you don’t feel nauseous, take your medications to prevent the symptom from occurring. If something is stopping you from taking your medications as prescribed, ask your medical team for help. There is no reason to suffer in silence. Your doctor can try different medications or different formulas and dosing schedules. For example, some anti-nausea medications are taken as pills, while other are given as an injection. What works best for one person may not work well for another. Keep the lines of communication open and keep trying until you get the symptom relief you need.
Soothing Foods
Once you’ve worked with your doctor to find the right medicine or combination of medications to manage vomiting, you can address any remaining nausea with good nutrition The following tips will get you started.
- If possible, avoid the kitchen when food is being prepared, so that you can avoid strong food smells.
- Try low-odor, quick-cooking foods such as scrambled eggs; French toast; pancakes; oatmeal; cream of wheat; cold cereal; canned peaches, pears, or fruit cocktail; and shakes and smoothies.
- Experiment with food temperatures to find what works best. For example, try warm foods such as oatmeal, cream of wheat, or soup, and cold foods such as frozen fruit, popsicles, frozen fruit bars, or shakes and smoothies.
- Try different or unusual flavors. What you normally like may not be appealing now. For example, try making a sour, tart, or mildly sweet shake or smoothie by adding frozen cranberries.
- To cut the overly sweet taste of liquid nutritional products such as Ensure®, try adding 1 to 2 teaspoons of finely ground, decaffeinated coffee to chocolate or vanilla flavors.
- Use a “to-go” cup or travel mug with a lid to avoid unnecessary smells that can worsen nausea.
- Keep snacks handy, because hunger may last only a few minutes.
- Try keeping a little food in your stomach at all times. Having a completely empty stomach may worsen nausea.
- Try sucking on candied ginger root or sipping ginger tea.
- Stay upright, either in a chair or propped up with pillows for at least 30-60 minutes after eating. Lying flat after meals and snacks can worsen nausea and heartburn.