Tag Archives: cancer

The Ultimate Comfort

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Soon after her son was diagnosed with a brain cancer called anaplastic ependymoma, Lisa DeYoung was scanning through a brain tumor foundation website and stumbled upon Chemo Duck.

She had no idea that Chemo Duck existed and is so glad she purchased one for her then 3 year old son.

The comfort and connection Chemo Duck brought to Jack was enormous, she said.

“He had lots of toys and things to play with and distract him, but none of them was like him,” said DeYoung. “I wanted to get him something that he could identify with and looked like him. It turned out to be one of the best things ever.”

Athough Jack, now 8 years old, is no longer in treatment, Chemo Duck is still close by.

“He had Chemo Duck with him the whole time we were in the hospital and when we had appointments,” she recalled. “Through the years he just got very attached to him. He still sleeps with him.”

The bright yellow stuffed animal not only served as an educational tool during his treatments, but became so much more.

“Chemo Duck is important for kids like Jack who are going through a lot of scary and new things,” said his mom. “Being able to show Jack and kids like him what is going to happen really helps allay their fears. He is an invaluable teaching tool and a source of comfort for kids going through cancer treatments.”

Each duck comes outfitted with a catheter sewn into its chest to resemble the line that is central to a chemotherapy patient’s treatment. Jack’s Chemo Duck has an additional resemblance – an incision to match that of his owner.

For the DeYoungs, it helped their son to be able to interact with something that was very similar to himself.

“Chemo Duck was the only toy he had that could be just like him,” she explained. “He was able to play with Chemo Duck in ways he couldn’t play with his other toys and he would hook up a feeding tube to him.”

Reducing Nausea

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A child experiencing nausea and vomiting becomes a source of stress and anxiety for any parent. Usually the symptoms pass quickly and it is not necessary to feed your child much more than a bowl of chicken noodle soup. However, when children experience prolonged bouts of nausea, common in chemo treatment, it becomes important to identify foods that will not aggravate the situation and will be agreeable to an unsettled tummy. These tips are great for children that are feeling queasy for any number of reasons! – Lu Sipos 

Ways to Reduce Nausea:

  • try foods with minimal odor (scent of food can trigger nausea), such as baked or boiled chicken breast, plain pasta
  • dill pickles may help with the metallic taste sensation caused by chemotherapy
  • offer dry cereal, crackers, toast in the morning as low blood sugar can trigger nausea
  • offer snacks before bedtime or even the middle of the night to avoid an empty tummy
  • find foods your child can tolerate, add one food per day for variety
  • use a cold cloth over eyes when nausea strikes
  • sip clear liquids: tea and Ginger Ale may decrease nausea, flat soda pop
  • avoid fatty, greasy, or fried foods
  • avoid icy drinks, very carbonated drinks, very hot drinks
    tepid peppermint tea
  • Jell-O
  • try the BRAT diet foods: bananas, rice, apples/natural applesauce, toast
    offer Queasy Pops

Help! My child isn’t eating properly…

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 During cancer treatment, a child’s appetite is so intermittent and unpredictable that it seems like food and eating become a minefield for parents to navigate. For the next few months, we are partnering with Melissa Sharp from Another Lunch to offer options and ideas to families living with this challenge. Her flair for nutrition and making food fun makes her the perfect fit for the series. Although the collaboration was conceived to assist children living with cancer, these ideas and recipes translate to any number of situations and illnesses that affect appetite. The topics for the series will include how to best add calories, encourage eating, reduce nausea, and ease sore mouths.

Adding Calories
My son, Gabe, was only 12 months old when he was diagnosed with cancer. At that time, experience led the surgeons to think they should implant a gastric feeding tube during his chemotherapy port surgery. The doctors assumed that since he was so young he would be unable to keep his weight stable without nutritional supplements. Gabe’s oncologist decided that it was better to “wait and see” what happened with his weight and nourishment. We, Gabe’s parents, found ways to add calories to his food whenever he felt like eating and he did manage to maintain his weight throughout treatment. These ideas can be used help supplement the diets of any child who struggles to gain weight or needs to supplement their diet. – Lu Sipos

  • Use full-fat dairy products: calorie-rich whole milk as a beverage and as an ingredient when making meals such as cereal, macaroni and cheese, pudding, etc.
  • Add dry milk powder to mashed potatoes, pancake batter, etc.
  • Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on pasta and noodle dishes
  • Add extra noodles to soups
  • Offer French Toast instead of plain bread or toast and add butter
  • Frying foods and breading before frying adds a lot of needed calories
  • Create kid-approved smoothies by blending fruits with whole milk. Add honey and an instant breakfast mix for added calories and sweetness. Adding frozen yogurt or ice cream punches up the calorie content even more.
  • Spread peanut butter on crackers and use as a dip for fruits and veggies. For a super boost of calories make Super Peanut Butter (recipe below) in lieu of regular peanut butter.

Super Peanut Butter Recipe 
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of dried milk powder
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon of water5 tablespoon of peanut butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:
Combine dry milk, water, vanilla in a small bowl and stir until moistened.
Add honey and peanut butter. Mix until well combined.
Mixture can be stored in the refrigerator, but will be difficult to spread when cold.
Bring Super Peanut Butter to room temperature for easy spreading.