The Case of the Missing Nutrition

During the auto SCT and even during the months before when the cancer was being managed at MD Anderson in Houston, I rarely received guidance as to nutrition. In fact, what foods I ate was of little concern to anyone at MDA until those weeks after the SCT when I was asked to not eat fresh fruits and vegetables (of all things.) The reason: uncooked produce contains toxins that immuno-deficient people (which I was and, supposedly, still am) cannot tolerate.

Of course, such a restriction is counter-intuitive, to say the least. I was raised to love fresh produce. My mom had an organic garden, for heaven's sake. (Above: photo of Organics shop--finally--in Dripping Springs--where Jacob grew up.) But, apparently, foods (even organically grown foods) are fertilized quite often with manure or other waste products. The toxins from this soil grow up into the plant and are not removable unless the fruit or the vegetable is cooked.

This restriction is further complicated by the fact that I have the appetite of a small bird. I can never eat all of anything I put on my plate. For this reason, I am still losing weight...but that's not always good when you're trying to raise blood counts (WBC, RBC, etc.)

Despite this, I realize I must find my way through these restrictions and complications to a healthy diet that grows white blood cells and the like.

I've noticed so far that the following things work for me:

Vegetable-based soups
Cooked apples
Mashed potatoes
Chili with beans and rice
Simple meat dishes, like chicken, turkey and the occasional steak
Tart cherry juice in water
Whole wheat crackers (for nausea)
Cottage cheese
Goat cheese

But that's it. A dear friend of the family who is also a gifted nutritionist (mentioned in previous entries for his book Gut Instinct) and cancer survivor himself has been giving me nutritional advice for years. Now I am hoping he'll guide me even further, as I try to figure out how to eat again.