Fasting During Chemo

[zephyr]

I'm starting this weekend and will report back. The literature from my naturopathic physician recommends starting 48 hours before chemo, and says you can have up to 500 calories a day and still get the benefits.

Today is Thursday and I was just unhooked from the pump. I started fasting - a modified fast of less than 500 calories per day - on Sunday and I'll continue through today. 5 days total. The instructions were to start the fast 48 hours before chemo (Tuesday) to get the normal cells into hibernation, and then to fast through all 3 days of chemo. This has been my easiest chemo round ever. Amazing results. I will absolutely continue to do it this way.

[heiders33]

Interesting! Has anyone tried to do this with Xeloda, where you have to eat something with the pills?

[Lee]

I'm starting this weekend and will report back. The literature from my naturopathic physician recommends starting 48 hours before chemo, and says you can have up to 500 calories a day and still get the benefits.

Today is Thursday and I was just unhooked from the pump. I started fasting - a modified fast of less than 500 calories per day - on Sunday and I'll continue through today. 5 days total. The instructions were to start the fast 48 hours before chemo (Tuesday) to get the normal cells into hibernation, and then to fast through all 3 days of chemo. This has been my easiest chemo round ever. Amazing results. I will absolutely continue to do it this way.

Wow, most interesting!!! What type of food did you eat (500 calories). I just can't imagine getting by with so few calories without passing out, especially after a few of it.

Thanks for the update

Lee

[zephyr]

Today is Thursday and I was just unhooked from the pump. I started fasting - a modified fast of less than 500 calories per day - on Sunday and I'll continue through today. 5 days total. The instructions were to start the fast 48 hours before chemo (Tuesday) to get the normal cells into hibernation, and then to fast through all 3 days of chemo. This has been my easiest chemo round ever. Amazing results. I will absolutely continue to do it this way.

Wow, most interesting!!! What type of food did you eat (500 calories). I just can't imagine getting by with so few calories without passing out, especially after a few of it.

I wasn't very imaginative but it worked for me. I planned it out ahead of time and made sure everything was here so that I didn't need to go into a grocery store. It turned out to be easier than I expected. I started the morning with herbal tea because I found that coffee was a little harsh on my stomach. I didn't eat anything until/unless I felt true hunger; if it was just boredom, I found something to do or sipped on vegetable broth. Usually around 11:00 a.m. or later I made a 1-egg spinach & mushroom omelette (120 calories, including a tiny bit of Irish butter for flavor and easy flipping) and that often got me through the day. If I wanted more later, I sipped on vegetable broth or had a cup of organic vegetable/barley soup (60 calories per cup, Cedar Lane brand from Costco). If I just needed crunch, I cut up a cucumber and munched on that (about 16 calories per cup). I made sure to drink at least 64 ounces of water/broth/herbal tea every day because I read that staying hydrated would prevent headaches that sometimes occur if you're dehydrated during fasting. Next time I might add grilled asparagus spears from Trader Joe's (about 100 calories for the whole bag of 4 servings) or some cantaloupe (about 60 calories per cup) or a little bit of hummus with cut up vegetables (about 120 calories depending on the ingredients and amount of hummus).

I was told it helped to avoid heavy meals of meat, fats, and pasta few days ahead of the fast to make the transition easier.

Below is the vegetable broth I made ahead and froze in small freezer baggies to keep on hand. It has more flavor than any vegetable broth I've ever tasted, including a bit of sweetness that I like. There are several ingredients that make it look daunting but it's actually pretty easy to make. There's a video at the end of the recipe where she demonstrates how easy it is to make and mentions substitutions.
https://www.rebeccakatz.com/magic-mineral-broth/

I'm seeing a naturopathic physician who specializes in oncology and has the blessing of my oncologist. The N.P. was the doctor who gave me instructions and the go-ahead to fast, and she's only an email or a phone call away if I have questions or run into problems. I don't think anyone should consider fasting during treatment without first checking with their doctor.

[Bschreibs]

Today is Thursday and I was just unhooked from the pump. I started fasting - a modified fast of less than 500 calories per day - on Sunday and I'll continue through today. 5 days total. The instructions were to start the fast 48 hours before chemo (Tuesday) to get the normal cells into hibernation, and then to fast through all 3 days of chemo. This has been my easiest chemo round ever. Amazing results. I will absolutely continue to do it this way.

Wow, most interesting!!! What type of food did you eat (500 calories). I just can't imagine getting by with so few calories without passing out, especially after a few of it.

I wasn't very imaginative but it worked for me. I planned it out ahead of time and made sure everything was here so that I didn't need to go into a grocery store. It turned out to be easier than I expected. I started the morning with herbal tea because I found that coffee was a little harsh on my stomach. I didn't eat anything until/unless I felt true hunger; if it was just boredom, I found something to do or sipped on vegetable broth. Usually around 11:00 a.m. or later I made a 1-egg spinach & mushroom omelette (120 calories, including a tiny bit of Irish butter for flavor and easy flipping) and that often got me through the day. If I wanted more later, I sipped on vegetable broth or had a cup of organic vegetable/barley soup (60 calories per cup, Cedar Lane brand from Costco). If I just needed crunch, I cut up a cucumber and munched on that (about 16 calories per cup). I made sure to drink at least 64 ounces of water/broth/herbal tea every day because I read that staying hydrated would prevent headaches that sometimes occur if you're dehydrated during fasting. Next time I might add grilled asparagus spears from Trader Joe's (about 100 calories for the whole bag of 4 servings) or some cantaloupe (about 60 calories per cup) or a little bit of hummus with cut up vegetables (about 120 calories depending on the ingredients and amount of hummus).

I was told it helped to avoid heavy meals of meat, fats, and pasta few days ahead of the fast to make the transition easier.

Below is the vegetable broth I made ahead and froze in small freezer baggies to keep on hand. It has more flavor than any vegetable broth I've ever tasted, including a bit of sweetness that I like. There are several ingredients that make it look daunting but it's actually pretty easy to make. There's a video at the end of the recipe where she demonstrates how easy it is to make and mentions substitutions.
https://www.rebeccakatz.com/magic-mineral-broth/

I'm seeing a naturopathic physician who specializes in oncology and has the blessing of my oncologist. The N.P. was the doctor who gave me instructions and the go-ahead to fast, and she's only an email or a phone call away if I have questions or run into problems. I don't think anyone should consider fasting during treatment without first checking with their doctor.

Hi Zephyr,

Sounds like you had awesome results from the fasting. I'm going to speak with my oncologist and give it a shot. I would also like to connect with your naturopathic physician who specializes in oncology. Would you mine sending me their information? Thanks so much!

[zephyr]

I wasn't very imaginative but it worked for me. I planned it out ahead of time and made sure everything was here so that I didn't need to go into a grocery store. It turned out to be easier than I expected. I started the morning with herbal tea because I found that coffee was a little harsh on my stomach. I didn't eat anything until/unless I felt true hunger; if it was just boredom, I found something to do or sipped on vegetable broth. Usually around 11:00 a.m. or later I made a 1-egg spinach & mushroom omelette (120 calories, including a tiny bit of Irish butter for flavor and easy flipping) and that often got me through the day. If I wanted more later, I sipped on vegetable broth or had a cup of organic vegetable/barley soup (60 calories per cup, Cedar Lane brand from Costco). If I just needed crunch, I cut up a cucumber and munched on that (about 16 calories per cup). I made sure to drink at least 64 ounces of water/broth/herbal tea every day because I read that staying hydrated would prevent headaches that sometimes occur if you're dehydrated during fasting. Next time I might add grilled asparagus spears from Trader Joe's (about 100 calories for the whole bag of 4 servings) or some cantaloupe (about 60 calories per cup) or a little bit of hummus with cut up vegetables (about 120 calories depending on the ingredients and amount of hummus).

I was told it helped to avoid heavy meals of meat, fats, and pasta few days ahead of the fast to make the transition easier.

Below is the vegetable broth I made ahead and froze in small freezer baggies to keep on hand. It has more flavor than any vegetable broth I've ever tasted, including a bit of sweetness that I like. There are several ingredients that make it look daunting but it's actually pretty easy to make. There's a video at the end of the recipe where she demonstrates how easy it is to make and mentions substitutions.
https://www.rebeccakatz.com/magic-mineral-broth/

I'm seeing a naturopathic physician who specializes in oncology and has the blessing of my oncologist. The N.P. was the doctor who gave me instructions and the go-ahead to fast, and she's only an email or a phone call away if I have questions or run into problems. I don't think anyone should consider fasting during treatment without first checking with their doctor.

Hi Zephyr,

Sounds like you had awesome results from the fasting. I'm going to speak with my oncologist and give it a shot. I would also like to connect with your naturopathic physician who specializes in oncology. Would you mine sending me their information? Thanks so much!

I'm in Arizona and the practice I'm using is Naturopathic Specialists in Scottsdale.
https://www.listenandcare.com
The head of the practice is Daniel Rubin who has won lots of Top Doc awards. He specializes in oncology. I'm seeing Melissa Coats who also specializes in oncology and was referred to me by another colon cancer patient. I've met them both and they're both terrific. But if you're not in the Phoenix area, here's the URL where you can search for someone in your area:
http://www.naturopathic.org/AF_MemberDirectory.asp?version=2
The category you want is Cancer and then put in your zip code or city/state.
If you want any more info, feel free to PM me. Good luck!

[CRguy]

Interesting! Has anyone tried to do this with Xeloda, where you have to eat something with the pills?

Glad you asked this question my friend !!!
The short answer should be = " NO ! Do NOT try this at home "

The reason :

Xeloda ( capecitabine ) is a pro-drug oral pill which is ingested, absorbed and metabolized into a number of ACTIVE chemotherapeutic forms by the liver AND at the site of the tumors. Eating at the prescribed time is ESSENTIAL to enhance absorption of Xeloda so this chain of events will occur properly. IF you don't eat as required, the absorption is not optimal and you are effectively defeating the purpose of using an oral medication and limiting the effectiveness of your chemo.

zephyr is on an I.V. infusion chemo regime ( Folfiri + Ramucirumab ) where the active drugs are delivered directly into the blood and effective immediately. Oral absorption is not relevant in this setting.

Fasting may help to control the nausea related side effects of some chemo protocols but it is debatable whether or not it actually enhances effectiveness of chemo.

For my reasons in stating this, please refer to my other 9,346 post on this forum where I have discussed at length my views on alternative / holistic / naturopathic options for cancer patients for the past 10 years, and why I chose strictly Western Medicine for my own situation.

YMMV

Best wishes
CRguy

[Lee]

Thank you zephyr for the update. I'm not on chemo now so will not be fasting. But I am gonna try that broth recipe. I make a veggie soup from scratch, so I will try making the broth from scratch next time.

Did you by any chance lose weight with this fasting? When I was on chemo, I was under Dr.'s order not to lose one single pound.

Thank you and good luck,

Lee

[TXLiz]

Although chemo made me nauseous, if I did not force myself to eat, I got so weak I could barely move about normally on infusion days. I’d go back to get the pump off and be struggling to sit in the waiting room chair if I didn’t eat. My blood sugar got really wacky during chemo and even if I did eat before infusion days it would be low.

The nurses always chided me to eat...but I WAS eating.

[jortego128]

Our very own DK37, the late great Dr. Tom Marsilje, had an amazing writeup / self experiment on this very topic. It is incredibly interesting, and those thinking of trying fasting before chemo should read it. Long story short he claims it helped him personally a LOT with the post infusion symptoms. Be advised he was not trying to convince others to go this route, but as a scientist he gave it a go using himself as the guinea pig and he just documented HIS results.

https://adventuresinlivingterminallyopt ... fast-lane/

[zephyr]

Our very own DK37, the late great Dr. Tom Marsilje, had an amazing writeup / self experiment on this very topic. It is incredibly interesting, and those thinking of trying fasting before chemo should read it. Long story short he claims it helped him personally a LOT with the post infusion symptoms. Be advised he was not trying to convince others to go this route, but as a scientist he gave it a go using himself as the guinea pig and he just documented HIS results.

https://adventuresinlivingterminallyopt ... fast-lane/

Thank you, jortego128, for posting the link! As you said, it was an incredibly interesting blog post. My experience was similar and I read new information that was very helpful.

Did you by any chance lose weight with this fasting? When I was on chemo, I was under Dr.'s order not to lose one single pound.

Not so far... I'm really working to make up the lost calories during my recovery week. That said, if anyone else decides to try this, it's important to break the fast gently. Eat light meals for the first 24 hours or so. Your stomach might not feel so happy if you try to eat a large and/or heavy meal right away.

[hopeful]

I have been following this fasting topic for a while, and it certainly seems like there could be something too it. I'm the caregiver for a long term colon cancer survivor (who's out walking several miles per day and back to normal except for some annoying neuropathy) and am interested in the topic for obvious reasons, even though my husbands treatment was over in 2010. It's certainly worth some research. If you do a search on "Fasting cancer Longo FMD" you'll come up with lots of articles and youtube talks and interviews. Can it have protective properties after the fast is over? He seems to think so. It's certainly worth a look.

[mariane]

I tried to eat the low calories diet during the time our Tom posted much about the Longo approach to chemo.
I had rather unpleasant experience. I tried it during my 2 treatments with 5 FU only back in 2016. Overall bad experience. I felt weak. After one of the treatments my oral Herpes virus activated so it was a visual sign of my weakening immune system. I did not try it later. My personal experience was bad and I would not recommend it.
The posts written by CRGuy are very wise. Thank you!
Being on chemo due to higher stage cancer, patients really need to carefully look into their body weight. There were several studies that patients with higher body weight lived longer with stage 4 cancer. Dieting may negatively affect immunity. Harsh chemotherapy agents are more destructive for the body during fasting. You need food to regenerate.

Interesting link:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4831285/