15 YEARS AGO I discovered how hard it is to live without cheese.
If you are lactose-intolerant or vegan, you probably have little problem with this. But I’m neither, and it wasn’t just cheese. My chemo and medications came with a whole list of dietary restrictions. Off the top of my head, I remember they included sausage, beans and beer. But the hardest to adjust to was cheese.
No pizza, of course — and it also threw a curve into making other meals on a tight budget. I never realized how cheese-dependent I was until then. At least I didn’t have a problem in doing without beer.
You can imagine how these restrictions would hinder going out for Mexican. But fortunately, the El Chico would run specials on fajitas. Leave off the cheese and sour cream, and I could manage all right.
And even with the restrictions, I was still gaining weight.
About the only bright spot in this was that I wasn’t under these restrictions the whole time. In each four-week cycle I had to adhere to them for the two weeks of chemo, then for the next week while the drugs worked their way out of my system.
The next week was Cheese Week.
I looked forward to it every month, a full week without restrictions. Pepperoni pizza, quesadillas and refried beans, cheesy casseroles, sometimes washing it down with a cool malted adult beverage.
I didn’t realize that others looked forward to it, too. “Is it Cheese Week yet?” I heard our friend Valerie ask Gwen one day. Seems it not only made cooking for our gatherings easier, but meant my other side-effects were lessened, making me easier to get along with.
While I wouldn’t want to deal with chemo again, or recommend it to anyone else, it was kinda neat having a sort of holiday every month.
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I didn't know him at the time but when my late fiance was diagnosed with leukemia and going through chemo, it really affected his appetite like that. He told me that some days, all he could eat would be cheese grits. Then it would be broccoli cheese soup. Then it would be chicken noodle soup. Always something different and anything besides that one thing would take like sawdust to him and he couldn't eat it.
ReplyDeleteI was warned that some things might taste different or "wrong", but I don't think that ever became a problem.
ReplyDeleteI understand some heavy-duty chemos affect taste and appetite; that's why medicinal marijuana can be a big help as the THC munchies help overcome the aversion to eating. (No pot for me, though)
After my brain/skull surgeries I was diagnosed with a staph infection at the incision in the back of my head and was on heavy antibiotics. One pill they had me on was designed for diabetic foot and came with a ton of similar dietary restrictions. I remember how much I missed cheese, bacon, beer, and even bread in that 6 week period. I can't remember what it was with that antibiotic, but I couldn't have anything that was aged, cured, or fermented. The strangest thing is that I'm not much of a beer fan, but the moment they said I couldn't have it, I wanted one.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that there were eating restrictions with chemo. I always thought that people ate differently because of food making them sick, not because they couldn't eat certain foods. This entry definitely added to my education!
ReplyDeleteMy teenage son would probably turn down chemo if it meant giving up cheese. Honestly, I'm not joking.