Folks, I hope I am not crossing any sort of line here by soliciting medical advice.
One of my Saudi teachers is undergoing chemo for colon-rectal cancer. He seems to be holding up well to it, and as a board-certified hypochondriac I suspect the prognosis is good.
Anyway, he has asked me to look into what sort of diet would be best for a low RED blood cell count. Gee, I have no idea. So first off, what is the correct term for this symptom? Anemia of some sort?
Next, who can point me to the right place to go for some reading material for this guy?
The problem with that is that anemia can have so many different root causes, and a change in diet might not necessarily help. Sometimes it’s low iron, sometimes B12, sometimes folate… but if that’s not the problem, then sometimes increasing iron or something could actually be a bad idea.
Best bet would be for him to talk to his doctor, obviously. Chemo can mess with blood cell production, causing anemia, and sometimes the patient will be transfused with red cells to keep his hemoglobin levels high enough to do the job.
His doctor may also have access to medications that can boost his own blood cell production. I think there’ve been adverts recently for something that targets white blood cells, and I also have a vague memory of EPO (erythropoietin?) for red blood cells.
epogen is for erythrocytes (red cells), neupogen is for neutrophils (white cells).
Anemia is either from rapid loss such as bleeding or chemo, or reduced production which can be from several causes. Nutritional support includes protein, iron and b complex. This will help if the anemia is from loss, or a previously poor diet, but if you have a disease that impairs production it won’t. As always too much is it’s own problem.
Larry
Hm, chemo can also affect how things taste, and also the quality of appetite as well [slight nausea can be a common reaction to some smells that are normally pleasant]
‘fruit salad’ of grapes, small nuggets of melon, small slices of apple and small slices of banana, in a very lightly lemoned [so they dont brown] syrup served ice cold. You don’t so much eat the syrup as pick the fruit out =)
comfort foods like rice pudding and egg custards [every culture has some sort of gruel/puddingish grain dish and egg custardy stuff i bet] are good in small quantities.
mint tea is great hot or cold for upset stomachs, and you need to keep hydrated.
Thank you all. I realize the need to consult with a doctor and he is under a medico’s care. It is common in this part of the world to turn to diet to fix (or help to fix) most anything. Zam-zam water is also highly thought of in this regard.
Diet can help when there is a deficinecy of iron or vitamin B12. Since anemia has many causes, including chronic disease, he’d be better off eating a healthy diet high in fibre with plenty of vegetables and fluids… and asking his doctor.