Chemotherapy Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. It can be used for patients with stage I, II, III and IV breast cancer. Chemotherapy can be given before or after surgery. Drugs for breast cancer are usually given directly through an IV or by mouth. You may receive several combinations of drugs. Side effects depend mainly on the type of drug and the amount of drug used. Chemotherapy kills fast-growing cancer cells, but the drugs also damage normal, rapidly dividing cells: the
Blood cells: When the drugs lower the level of healthy blood cells, you are more likely to get infections, contusions
or bleeding. Patients feel very weak and tired. Your health care team will check how low your blood cell levels are. If your blood cell levels are too low, your health care team may stop chemotherapy for a period of time or reduce the dose of the medicine. There are also medications that can help your body produce new blood cells.
Cells at the root of your hair: Chemotherapy may cause hair loss. If you lose hair, it will grow back after treatment ends, but the color and texture may change.
Cells in the lining of the digestive tract: Chemotherapy can cause loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or mouth and lip sores. Your healthcare team can give you medications and other advice to help with these problems. Some medications used for breast cancer can cause tingling or numbness in the hands or feet. These problems usually go away after treatment ends.
Some other side effects may not go away. For example, some drugs used for breast cancer may weaken the heart. Your doctor may check the condition of your heart before, during, and after treatment.
Nutritional support.
During chemotherapy: provide a diet according to different symptoms The Chinese medical view is that chemotherapy acts on the body as a strong means of attacking evil, which can cause the body’s qi and blood to become damaged and the internal organs to become dysfunctional, with different degrees of toxic side effects. For the main adverse effects commonly seen in chemotherapy, a different diet should be taken corresponding to.
If there are digestive problems.
During chemotherapy, patients often have a loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms of the spleen and stomach.
Desirable: easy to digest food give him food that is easy to digest, with staple foods based on fluid or semi-fluid juices, for example, grains porridge, noodles, etc.
Avoid: raw, cold and oily. Don’t give the patient raw and cold fruits and vegetables, like watermelon, banana, pear, cucumber, eggplant, celery, etc., which can aggravate the diarrhea symptoms. Also fatty foods are not easy to digest and are not suitable to eat.
If dizziness and weakness.
In the process of chemotherapy, the patient’s white blood cells and platelets will drop, appearing dizziness, tiredness and weakness, panic and shortness of breath, hair loss and other general debilitation and lack of qi and blood performance.
Desirable: Iron-rich foods. Iron-rich foods can supply the body with enough raw materials for blood production. Choose such as pork liver, lean meat, fish, spinach, goldenseal, cinnamon, etc.
If you have a “dry” reaction.
Fever, thirst, stomatitis, mouth ulcers, dry stools, yellow urine, red tongue, no moss, etc., heat toxicity and depletion of fluid in chemotherapy.
Avoid: spicy and fried, stir-fried and deep-fried foods; eat more fresh vegetables, fruits and other high vitamin foods.
Meals.
1.Orange peel porridge
Ingredients: 20g each of green orange peel, green orange leaf and orange kernel, 50g of barley and 100g of round-grained rice.
Method: Put the green orange peel, green orange leaves, orange kernels into a pot with water and decoct into juice, remove the orange peel, leaves and kernels. Put in japonica rice and barley and boil with high fire, turn to simmer with civil fire until 80% mature, put in brown sugar and stir well, then cook until the rice is cooked into porridge. Eat the congee with sweet and sour garlic, 1 to 2 meals a day.
Effects: To promote the flow of qi, disperse nodules and eliminate stagnation. It is used for patients with early stage of breast cancer.
2.Centipede and seahorse powder
Composition: 6 centipedes, 1 seahorse, 45g of roasted samphire.
Method: Dry the above herbs, grind finely and make or disperse 3g each time, 3 times a day with yellow wine, take 15-20 doses for a course.
Effects: Promoting blood circulation, resolving blood stasis, eliminating swelling, promoting circulation, attacking toxicity and relieving pain. It is used for patients with intermediate or advanced breast cancer with hard nodes, ulcers, or lymphatic metastasis, which are obstructed by internal stasis and toxins.
3.Ringzhi Astragalus Pulp Soup
Ingredients: Ganoderma lucidum, Astragalus membranaceus 15g each, Radix et Rhizoma Polygonati 15g, Radix et Rhizoma Polygonati 15g, 100g lean pork.
Method: Boil soup with oil, salt and monosodium glutamate to taste, 1 dose daily. It can benefit the Qi, strengthen the spleen, nourish the blood and improve the immunity of the body.
Effects: Suitable for breast cancer patients with dizziness, weakness, poor appetite and physical weakness, or those with physical weakness or low white blood cells after surgery or radiotherapy.
4.Ginseng and Astragalus Monkey Head Chicken Soup
Ingredients: Radix et Rhizoma Ginseng 15g, Astragalus Membranaceus 30g, Rhizoma Macrocephalae 100g, 10 jujubes, hen meat 250g, clear soup in appropriate amount.
Method: Soak and cut the monkey head mushroom, cut the chicken meat into pieces, put them together in a steam bowl, add wine, ginger, onion, seal with wet cotton paper, stew and eat. It can nourish the blood, promote the flow of Qi and relieve pain.
Effect : Suitable for patients with deficiency of qi and blood after breast cancer surgery or chemotherapy, such as fatigue, shortness of breath and palpitations.
5.Golden Tortoise and Cordyceps Soup
Composition: One golden tortoise (about 250-500g), 15g of Cordyceps, 30g of ginseng, 15g of Ganoderma lucidum, and 6 honey dates.
Method: remove the internal organs of the turtle, even the turtle nail chopped into pieces, stewed with a gentle fire for about 1 hour, seasoning divided into morning and evening 2 times. 1 dose daily.
Efficacy: It can benefit the lungs and kidneys, nourish Yin and moisten dryness, stop cough and resolve phlegm. Used for radioactive pneumonia, dermatitis, etc.