I have Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukaemia which causes an enlarged liver, spleen, and gall bladder problems. These, along with the oral chemotherapy I am prescribed, cause digestion problems and impact on the size of meal I can manage. Recently I started rapidly losing weight and felt I needed advice on how my diet could help to address this; this information was not readily available from my health care providers.
My discussion with Meredy focussed on how to augment what I eat to get the most calorific and protein value. She looked at my eating and drinking preferences and patterns and gave me lots of ideas about how to maximise my intake and manage eating over the day. Her recommendations were very practical, often quite straightforward and involved natural foodstuffs which can be readily bought in any local supermarket or health store - no gimmicks! She understood bigger portions were not feasible and helped me see how to make what I can and do eat more nutritious. She also provided useful advice on dealing with mouth problems which impact on what I can tolerate eating sometimes.At the end of the session I felt very positive that there were things I could do with my daily diet to help manage my condition and that they were relatively easily achievable, which is important when energy levels are low. She raised my spirits!
Meredy tailored her advice to my circumstances specifically and our session was a discussion. She listened to what I said, adjusted her advice accordingly, empathised and encouraged. I would thoroughly recommend a consultation with Meredy to anyone who wanted to ensure they were following the most effective diet possible while dealing with their cancer.
J.C.
If you would like cancer nutrition support, advice, and encouragement, please get in touch with us at The Cancer Dietitian.
T: 020 8064 2865