Hi my mother is currently undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, why can't she eat fruits and juices?

Midnight nailed it.

She can eat fruits IF she can wash them thoroughly with a brush. I don't mean just run under water ... it has to have a durable skin that can be scrubbed with a brush, like an apple or pear. Fruits with thick peels like banana or orange are fine too. Totally avoid berries, grapes, raw veggies except perhaps carrots or celery (well scrubbed).

No honey.

Juices that have been pasteurized are ok.

Anything that might possibly harbor even a tiny amount of bacteria is off limits. Her immune system is probably too compromised to take the chance.

A lot of patients become neutropenic (low white blood cells) during chemotherapy. This is especially true of breast cancer patients that are receiving the very common AC regimen of Adriamycin and Cytoxan.

Because white blood cells are the infection fighting component of your blood, when you become neutropenic you have a harder time fighting off foreign invaders (bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.) The problem with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as unpasteurized juices is that they can harbor these little invaders and make your mom sick.

So, drinking juices that are pasteurized would be okay. And eating fruits and vegetables that have been peeled or very well cleaned would also be okay.

Sometimes oncology nurses don't go into the details of this because the patients are already bombarded with so much information, it's just easier to say, "don't eat fruit or raw vegetables". But the other folks are right, fruit and vegetables are good for you. There's no reason why she can't have some. She just needs to be careful.

I'm also wondering... is mom getting any injections of growth factor? Because that improves her situation even more. There are white cell growth factors (Neupogen, Neulasta and Leukine) that help your body make white cells more rapidly after a dose of chemotherapy. Sometimes, with these injections, the patients never even become so neutropenic that they have to worry about the foods they eat. People do have very individualized responses to these medications, though, so your mom would want to take a look at her bloodwork to be sure.

I wish her luck. It's very kind of you to be looking out for her while she's going through this treatment.

Hi,

If this is under doctor's orders to not eat certain things, then they are relying on their years of experience in treating other cancer patients, and the best advice from other doctors that have reviewed other cancer patients.

So if they find a cancer patient that has a bad reaction to eating mushrooms during chemo, they will tell the other doctors about it, and if several other doctors say "Yes I remember a patient having a bad reaction to mushrooms while being treated on chemo" then they will warn the others.

Also if they find that patients respond well to certain things, like a certain level of medication, or a certain treatment procedure, then they are likely to write about this as well.

So a Pharmacy might say that doctors have had a good response when giving 3 a day of this pill, and then 2 a day of this one. They will list the symptoms before and after treatment, and if your doctor has read this article, then sees those things in you, he will know what has worked well with others.

She is neutropenic, which means her white blood cell count is low and that means she is susceptable to infection. That is a typical result of chemo and radiation, but not everyone has this, which is why the other poster was unaware. Fresh fruits, fresh fruit juices, and fresh veggies ALL contain bacteria, fungi and chemicals. This is natural of the growing process and cant really be washed off. This doesnt harm healthy people because they are healthy. However, your mom is not healthy and her immune system cant fight the bacteria and fungi and chemicals. Eating these things when she is not supposed to could cause massive infection that could be fatal. Fresh herbs or anything from the garden is off limits, all dairy MUST be pasturized, NO honey, all meats MUST be cooked to temp. It is EXTREMELY important that she follow these rules. Her doc should have explained far better than they did. If you dont understand it, you need to call the doc and DEMAND that the explain it in full detail to the point that you can explain it to someone else, because it is of the MOST importance.

Has she been told not to eat fruits?

I don't know of any reason, I had both fruit and juice during chemo for breast cancer.

If you mean she physically can't eat them - well some foods taste unpleasant during chemo. She should eat whatever she fancies and thinks would make her feel better, rather than trying to force herself to eat healthily.

Edit* Wow - two thumbs downs for not being told to avoid fruit during chemotherapy; perhaps the thumbs downs should go to my oncologist, hmm?

Edit2* Quick poll of my breast cancer forum pals - neither of the two who've responded so far were told to avoid any foods during chemo. In addition, breastcancercare.org.uk advises that plenty of fruit and veg be eaten during chemotherapy. Breastcancer.org doesn't mention it at all as far as I can find so far. Could it be they're hotter on this in the US than in the UK?

My cancer is brain, but I'm undergoing chemo right now. I was never told what I could or could not eat by my drs. Just about the only thing I could stomach through my first round was fruits and juices. Now with my 2nd round of MUCH higher chemo doses, I get blood drawn every week and still drink mostly juices and still eat fruit and I haven't had any problems.

When I was being treated my stomach told me what I couldn't eat. I would look at something on my plate that I would have loved to have eaten - but voice inside would say "leave it". If I ignored my own advice, I was always sick!

My doctor said that women in particular often had this ability - so don't knock it!!!

More about foods and fads on www.after-cancer.com

We are all different the way we react, and however good something is for us generally, if our body can't tolerate it,try something else. And have fun trying out new things!

Verite R

Certain fruits have fungi and thus during chemo therapy, the body does not have an active immune system to fight back the fungi. Also, avoid peanuts, as they have the most amounts of fungi!

Lo- mcg I was never told this either, when I was being treated for breast cancer I was warned about grapefruit because it interferes with taken tablets, and St.Johns Wort was out of bounds as well. good question I have learnt something new to-day.