I wish I could help with a recipe but I know others here will be more helpful in that area. However, my neighbor underwent very aggressive treatment for a cancer in her neck. She had many mouth sores and was greatly helped by a concoction called Magic Mouthwash. After reading this reference I see that there is no one "recipe" for it, but perhaps you could mention it to your doctor.

By the way, she is doing very well now! Good luck with your treatment.

Here is a link that might be useful: Magic Mouthwash

You can actually just "brew" a slice of ginger too.
Pour boiling water over a slice of peeled ginger and let steep.
Ginger is wonderful to help with nausea. I loved ginger snaps when pregnant. The Ginger People makes all kinds of things.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Ginger People

There was a gal on chemo that came into our deli, she loved the chicken salad we made that had quite a bit of ginger in it. I'll check back to see if you need the recipe.

I can also see adding ginger to a chiken broth type soup.

Nancy

I add ginger to our butternut squash soup recipe. It's pretty easy, especially when you use the pre-chunked squash available at TJ's or Costco (around here).
Your can skip the curry and add more ginger for your purposes, but be careful, Ginger can be awfully spicy.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 Tblsp Olive oil or butter
2-3 lbs Butternut squash, peeled, and diced into 1 inch chunks
3 large carrots chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 Tblsp ginger(1"piece)
2 quarts of vegetable stock or chicken stock or cold water (mixed chicken and veggie)
1 bunch parsley, chopped
Pinch of: nutmeg
Powdered ginger
Curry powder
Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil or butter over medium heat in a large saucepot, sauté the squash, carrots, onion and ginger for 3 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Add the stock and some orange zest (if desired) and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and cook uncovered for 35-40 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Add the parsley, nutmeg, salt, pepper, ginger and curry to taste. Puree the soup with a handheld immersion blender, food processor or regular blender until smooth and creamy. Soup can be garnished with fresh sage leaves and Parmesan Crostini.

Serves 4-6 people

Another thing that I love is Buderim's GingerBears from Cost Plus World Market. The darn things are addicting! They're like gummybears with a bite! Actually CostPlus has a number of ginger candies. If you don't have any nearby, I'd be happy to ship some to you.

As someone who spent 5 1/2 months doing chemo...ginger soup won't really help the nausea and it will hurt your mouth.
Chew ice cubes in the 10 minutes before they hook you up and for about 20 minutes while they are infusing you....keeps the bad stuff from concentrating in your mouth tissues...really helps, particularly if you are taking adriamycin.
As for the nausea, tell your Dr you want some compazine....works magic!
Funny ( or perhaps not!) I chewed ice for the first of the chemo treatments....and when it came time for the third treatment, they brought me the cup of ice and I gagged! Huge nausea and I hadn't even begun the infusion! the nurse said your body knows what's coming!
They recommended popsicles...but I had to have a different flavor each time I went because after once, grape made me heave, then on to orange and lemon and cherry and then I was done!!
I took decadron and compazine for 2 or 3 days after every treatment....and also Neupogen to boost my white cell count.
One down....how many more to go? We'll count with you
Linda c

Our center for hope in Ct often asked for donations of gumdrops for chemo patients. Said to help with the nausea.
Good luck. We're all here for you.
Jo

I'm also on chemo and I recently received a gift of a small container of hard ginger candy. One piece immediately (and temporarily) relieved my nausea. I've also had good luck with Jolly Rancher candies.

I checked out that Ginger People website and I think I'm going to order some of the Gin Gins.

Good luck with your treatment.

I have great sympathy for you gals (and guys sometimes) who need chemo. Fortunately, for several of my friends, it was successful. That's the good part.

A comforting and nutritious dish is congee, also known as jook. Boil a couple of tablespoons of rice in a couple of cups of chicken broth until the rice completely disintegrates, about an hour. I'm not sure if this is appropriate for chemo, but it is good food during most illnesses. It is good during times of wellness, for that matter. It is easy on the stomach.

Wishing you a healthful future,

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Congee

No recipes, just want you to know you're in my thoughts, hope you feel better soon.
Di

Cloud_swift, I hope you feel better really soon.

I don't know whether ginger will help or not. I do know these are delicious recipes. If you don't feel like making them and don't have anyone to do it for you, I can tell you that some grated fresh ginger in a can of hot chicken stock is good too. I love ginger.

Ginger Won-ton Soup

4 oz lean ground pork
½ cup reduced fat ricotta cheese
½ tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
20 Wonton wrappers
1 teaspoon oil
2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
4 cans fat free chicken broth (or homemade is best)
4 teaspoons soy sauce
4 oz fresh sugar snap peas (optional)
1 or 2 cans baby corn (rinsed and drained) (optional)
4 green onions sliced

Cook pork over medium high heat until no longer pink, cool slightly; stir in ricotta, cilantro, black pepper and 5 spice powder. Place 1 teaspoon in the center of each wonton wrapper. Fold and seal edges with water. Drop into slightly simmering water and cook until they come to the top; about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and keep warm.

Heat oil in large saucepan. Add bell pepper and ginger, cook 1 minute. Add chicken broth and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and add peas and corn. Simmer 4 or 5 minutes and add warm wontons. Pour into soup bowls and sprinkle with onions. Serves 4

------------------------------------------

Malaysian Noodle Soup with Chicken

4 oz uncooked wide rice stick noodles
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut in ¼ inch strips
2 tablespoons grated peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 star anise1-1/2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
2 14 oz cans fat free, low sodium chicken broth
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped green onions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions omitting salt and fat. Do not overcook because they will become mushy.
2. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add chicken and stirring constantly cook eight minutes or until browned. Remove ginger from the pan. Add ginger, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, garlic and star anise; cook 30 seconds stirring constantly. Stir in chicken, mushrooms, fish sauce, and broth, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 12 minutes. Discard star anise. Stir in pepper. Place ¾ cup noodles into each of 4 bowls. Ladle 1 cup of soup into each bowl. Sprinkle each bowl with 1 tablespoon onions. Yield: 4 servings
Cooking Light Magazine

My recommendation would be the "vegetable soup with mushrooms" that comes in a cellophane tube in the Kosher section of the grocery store. Make according to the package directions, substituting chicken broth for the water, and add a small onion, carrot and stalk of celery very finely chopped in the food processor.

The mixture of green and yellow split peas, barley, small beans, alphabet noodles, dried mushrooms and spices turns into a mild sort of thick porridge, which is easy on both the mouth and the stomach.

Best wishes and prayers, cloud swift.

I have been doing the menopause mambo of late, and recently went through a period when it manifested itself in nausea. A tea of Chamomile, mint, fresh ginger, cloves, lavender, ginseng and cinnamon (sweetened with a wee bit of honey) helped me quite a bit. I would simmer a pot of it until the flavors became quite strong, and then keep it in a jar in the fridge to sip on off and on all day. Keeping even small amounts of bland, starchy foods in my stomach helped as well. A saltine cracker, a mouthful of rice, a piece of toast. For some reason, I could eat those awful Nissan Cup o' Noodles when I could eat nothing else.

I discovered that for some reason, pickle juice helped as well, and I found myself sipping from my Claussen pickles jar all the time.

I think that the best thing for you to do is follow whatever cravings you have. Your body will tell you what you need. Even if it seems weird, just go for it. Cherish and indulge yourself. And let your loved ones do for you...it will comfort you and give them the comfort of feeling like they're helping you heal.

Hang in there Pat! I find that a homemade lemon and ginger tea to help when I'm not feeling well. I take one lemon and slice it in half, then peel and rough chop a 3 inch piece of fresh ginger. Squeeze the lemon into a saucepan, add the lemon halves and ginger with 4 cups of water, then bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes; sweeten, then drink.

It's an awesome tea and you can add as much ginger as you like (which I usually add more). It's great to have when the weather is chilly and when you need a little "brightening up". The tea also chills well and can be reheated. I sometimes make a big batch of this, stick in the refrigerator, and drink it on and off for a few days.

In my post about congee, I neglected to say that it would be fine to cook a piece of ginger root with the congee. There are many other garnishes which can be added. Just add whatever appeals to you. Turkey is one which is often recommended. You don't need much. Also, add some seasoning. A bit of salt or soy sauce is usual.

Jim

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm getting home from a trip Saturday evening before my next chemo (Monday). I had store bought ginger snaps last time but I think I'll make some myself on Sunday. Home made is so much better. I can make a big batch and freeze baggies of them.

Congee sounds good too.

I like the soup ideas. We keep kosher so pork is out as would be anything that combines dairy ingredients with meat (but if you have a recipe, I'm pretty good at subbing out either the dairy or the meat).

Thanks for the good wishes. I have stage I breast cancer so once I get through chemo and radiation I should be done with it. Because it is stage I, we chose a non-Adriamycin chemo. At stage I the benefit of chemo isn't large enough to justify the heart risk of Adriamycin and there is another chemo with about as much benefit, lower side effects and less risk. It is newer and doesn't have as long term results. I have zophran and compazine for nausea as needed but if I can reduce my needs for drugs with diet I would prefer to do that. I'll take what I need to be comfy and healthy but all these drugs have side effects.

A couple years back, my husband had about the same chemo set. The nurses and dr. stressed that he had to have a lot more protein than normal. We aren't big meat eaters, but during that time, I cooked and he ate. He actually gained weigh! He also kept his hair and never had mouth sores.

Is there someone at home who can cook while you are receiving treatment? Those days were trying, I remember, and my husband would not have been in shape to cook even if he had the ability. He slept a lot! It might work for you to cook before the treatments, so that you and yours have something to eat. Healthy eating really makes this process easier and its really important to keep something on the tummy (whenever possible). For us it wasn't anything special (besides the meat), but I was able to cook whatever appealed to him at any given instant.

Best of luck with your treatment! Hope your treatment is as successful as my husband's.

Funny that someone mentioned pickle juice. Pickles have really soothed my stomach since I've been on chemo.

Another thing to consider (and is perfect for your Kosher diet) is matzo ball soup. Lately after my treatment, I've been eating 1/2 a pastrami sandwich (okay, just the pastrami) and a small matzo ball soup. And of course, a pickle!

cloud swift, I don't have much to offer as far as the ginger but I wanted to let you know that I am thinking about you and wishing you a very speedy recovery. This is a difficult time I know as I watched my father go through this.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

My prayers are with you. My husband went through a couple of chemo treatments about 3 years ago. Mint tea and crackers seemed to help him. He never developed the mouth sores, but he never got past the 2nd chemo either. Some doctor FORGOT to put him on the neuprogen and his white cell count tanked. So Be SURE to remind your chemo specialist to put you on that med!!!

DonnaR/CA

Cloud Swift, I don't have much new to add either. A nice mint tea can soothe an upset stomach and crystallized ginger is nice to munch on if you can take the "heat", it's a bit strong but great for nausea and motion type sickness.

The only time I was truly very nauseous was when I was pregnant with Amanda and for some reason lemonade and potato chips worked better than anything. The doc said it was the combination of sweet/sour/salty but I think it was just because I liked potato chips and lemonade.

I just wanted you to know that I've been thinking of you and you're in my prayers, hoping for a quick and total cure for you. Be sure to drink enough too, it can be difficult when your stomach is cranky, but you need to stay hydrated.

Annie

When I was expecting my DD and very nauseated I would drink Coca Cola and eat saltine crackers and it helped.

Hang in there because I'm thinking of you and hoping you get to feeling better soon.

Beverly

Sorry to hear that you have to go through this but at least you caught the cancer early. My advice is to eat anything that appeals to you - the only thing I wanted was the citrus fruit that comes in a jar in the produce section! After a while I figured out that if I forced myself to eat, I felt better & the nausea subsided.

Good luck with your treatments.

Cloud Swift, I don't have anything more to add, just to let you know I'm thinking of you and hope this passes quickly for you! Gina

Cloud Swift, I too hope you get through this with the least discomfort. I have heard and had patients use black licorice to help with chemo nausea. If you like it, smiles. Also, lemon drops. Making the ginger snaps sounds like a great idea. Sending you healing energy/thoughts.

CS, no recipes or advise, just wanted to let you know I am thinking of you as you fight this monster. May the nausea and sores not visit you!

Peppi

Fennel tea is good for nausea. Steep a tsp. of fennel in mug of boiling water and then drink. The seeds sink to the bottom. Milder than licorice, which can have some blood pressure effects (I think maybe it raises it?). I am just not a huge licorice fan but I like fennel.

Also know I am with you and praying.
Love and hugs,
Lauri e Rosen berg, aka lpinkmountain