Friday, February 28, 2020
Today is my scheduled chemotherapy rest day. In reality, it is my second rest week because Dr. Doom and Gloom took me off chemotherapy treatment last Friday due to a deep pressure sore. Oddly enough, I have still been eating pretty well this past week even without the help of steroids. I think all those weeks of steroid treatments have trained my body to eat more, even without the drug’s insistence.
I am having lunch with my seven-year-old, Mika, at school today for chocolate milk day. Woo hoo! Personally, I do not drink chocolate milk, I am not much of a chocolate fan anymore. I bring home my milk for Mika to drink later. I used to love milk chocolate, but cancer has pretty much taken that away from me. Most times I have a piece of chocolate now, I do not even like it. I had given up a lot of forms of chocolate long before I got sick, but it was still sad to lose the little chocolate I still enjoyed.
When I was a child, I ate every bit of chocolate put in front of me, even Oreo cookies, cake, and ice cream. I cannot remember ever eating chocolate ice cream as an adult other than an occasional small Frosty from Wendy’s. Frosties are milk chocolate and I usually shared that small cup with someone else, so I did not eat more than I would enjoy. The only chocolate cake I have eaten as an adult is German chocolate because some ingredient in the frosting neutralizes the strong chocolate taste, not that I have eaten any in many years. I know some of my loss of enjoyment eating milk chocolate is taste bud changes; however, some of it comes from changes in ingredients the manufacturers use.
I was smart enough to give up Oreo cookies while still in high school. The center is too sweet, and I do not like dark chocolate. They were so fun to eat. I would take off one side, hoping not to pull off any of the center and eat it. Then I would try to eat off the second side without disturbing the center, so I could eat it last without any chocolate interfering. Yes, food does taste better when you play with it. I also used to suck the milk chocolate off my Heath candy bars to eat the toffee separate until Hershey owned both Heath and Skor and now just puts Skor bars in Heath wrappers. (Hershey may say they are different, but Heath bars used to come in two pieces and had better-quality toffee.)
Even though I did not like most chocolate, I miss the chocolate I did like. I received a Toblerone bar for Christmas from a friend and only ate two triangles, and I did not love them. I have not had a blue-label Hershey Symphony bar for four years. I do not even crave mini Snickers ice cream bars. I miss chocolate!
I do not miss bread and only occasionally miss potatoes. I can still eat potatoes occasionally and not dislike them, but every time I try bread, I regret it. My chemotherapy treatments did not work well enough to bring back a taste for bread. I did like bread but eating lunchmeat and cheese with my fingers is fun, so who needs bread? A BLT is hard to eat without bread, but I still love it.
I am sure, as Mika ages, she will lose a taste for some types of chocolate she enjoys now. Hormones will dictate some of her cravings. I liked barbeque potato chips the week before my period each month, and only then. I do not eat barbeque potato chips anymore. I was eating Cheetos like crazy for the past three months. I have been eating out of the same snack-size bag for the past week. I may need to give up and throw it away. Cheetos were obviously a steroid craving. No steroids, no Cheetos.
My piece of advice to you is quit eating or drinking what you do not like. I do not put protein powder in my milk because it tastes bad to me. I simply try to drink five glasses of milk each day to hit my body’s elevated protein requirements. Most days I am successful in accomplishing my goals, and, most important, I do not beat myself up on the days I am not successful.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
Today is my scheduled chemotherapy rest day. In reality, it is my second rest week because Dr. Doom and Gloom took me off chemotherapy treatment last Friday due to a deep pressure sore. Oddly enough, I have still been eating pretty well this past week even without the help of steroids. I think all those weeks of steroid treatments have trained my body to eat more, even without the drug’s insistence.
I am having lunch with my seven-year-old, Mika, at school today for chocolate milk day. Woo hoo! Personally, I do not drink chocolate milk, I am not much of a chocolate fan anymore. I bring home my milk for Mika to drink later. I used to love milk chocolate, but cancer has pretty much taken that away from me. Most times I have a piece of chocolate now, I do not even like it. I had given up a lot of forms of chocolate long before I got sick, but it was still sad to lose the little chocolate I still enjoyed.
When I was a child, I ate every bit of chocolate put in front of me, even Oreo cookies, cake, and ice cream. I cannot remember ever eating chocolate ice cream as an adult other than an occasional small Frosty from Wendy’s. Frosties are milk chocolate and I usually shared that small cup with someone else, so I did not eat more than I would enjoy. The only chocolate cake I have eaten as an adult is German chocolate because some ingredient in the frosting neutralizes the strong chocolate taste, not that I have eaten any in many years. I know some of my loss of enjoyment eating milk chocolate is taste bud changes; however, some of it comes from changes in ingredients the manufacturers use.
I was smart enough to give up Oreo cookies while still in high school. The center is too sweet, and I do not like dark chocolate. They were so fun to eat. I would take off one side, hoping not to pull off any of the center and eat it. Then I would try to eat off the second side without disturbing the center, so I could eat it last without any chocolate interfering. Yes, food does taste better when you play with it. I also used to suck the milk chocolate off my Heath candy bars to eat the toffee separate until Hershey owned both Heath and Skor and now just puts Skor bars in Heath wrappers. (Hershey may say they are different, but Heath bars used to come in two pieces and had better-quality toffee.)
Even though I did not like most chocolate, I miss the chocolate I did like. I received a Toblerone bar for Christmas from a friend and only ate two triangles, and I did not love them. I have not had a blue-label Hershey Symphony bar for four years. I do not even crave mini Snickers ice cream bars. I miss chocolate!
I do not miss bread and only occasionally miss potatoes. I can still eat potatoes occasionally and not dislike them, but every time I try bread, I regret it. My chemotherapy treatments did not work well enough to bring back a taste for bread. I did like bread but eating lunchmeat and cheese with my fingers is fun, so who needs bread? A BLT is hard to eat without bread, but I still love it.
I am sure, as Mika ages, she will lose a taste for some types of chocolate she enjoys now. Hormones will dictate some of her cravings. I liked barbeque potato chips the week before my period each month, and only then. I do not eat barbeque potato chips anymore. I was eating Cheetos like crazy for the past three months. I have been eating out of the same snack-size bag for the past week. I may need to give up and throw it away. Cheetos were obviously a steroid craving. No steroids, no Cheetos.
My piece of advice to you is quit eating or drinking what you do not like. I do not put protein powder in my milk because it tastes bad to me. I simply try to drink five glasses of milk each day to hit my body’s elevated protein requirements. Most days I am successful in accomplishing my goals, and, most important, I do not beat myself up on the days I am not successful.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.