Ask the expert
Myleloma
Question
I have now been put on Valcade and Dexamethasone. I replapsed after 7 months after having Thalidomide. Paraprotein shot up from 7 after treatment to 26. Question is if I take Floradix to try to keep up my white blood cells would it interfere with my Chemo ? Or would I be wasting my time. Any particular foods I could home on? I know liver is good and Watercress but it is not available where I am. Red meat I know but I am not a big meat eater.
Answer
Floradix is a liquid iron supplement containing vitamins, herbal extracts and fruit concentrates. With regard to whether it can interfere with your chemo, I would recommend that you ask your doctor/medical team for advice. They will have a full understanding of your medical condition, treatment, medications you are currently taking and will be able to check whether there are any contra-indications specific to your case.
If you are eating well, and achieving a balanced diet it should not be necessary to take supplementary vitamins and minerals in order to meet nutritional requirements. There are no foods that you should eat specifically. The recommended advice is to eat a balanced, nutritious diet (including protein, carbohydrates, fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals) and to aim to maintain your weight. This will help to improve your physical strength, ability to heal and repair, and to tolerate optimal doses of anti-cancer treatment.
It sounds like you would benefit from an individual nutritional assessment in order to calculate your current nutritional requirements and for you to receive tailored advice/reassurance on how these needs can be met. If you are in hospital, you can ask your medical team to refer you to the dietitian who may be able to see you on the ward. If you are at home, your hospital doctor or your GP can refer you to see a dietitian in an out patient appointment.
