People at the cancer center like to pounce on you. Today it was the nutritionist, who wanted to talk just really quick about side effects and eating well during treatments. I politely informed her right away that I'm vegan, and she started asking if I eat any dairy (no), or if I eat fish (NO). Then she asked if I like beans, and wanted to make sure I'm getting enough protein. I could go off about this, but I'll spare you. Anyway, I assured her that I've been concious of making food choices deliberately to include lots of fiber and that I do eat soy a few times a week, beans more often. I kind of wanted to tell her that there's protein in veggies, but you know, I didn't want to sit there all day. She did, however, give me a benefiber sample and coupons for FiberOne cereal. My weight seems to have stabalized (although I'm pretty sure the chemo bag weighs like two pounds), but she seemed concerned about my initial weight loss. I'm not. I agree that crash dieting isn't probably wise when one has cancer, but it's not like I'm eating crap or doing it on purpose.
So after that, which maybe seems long but wasn't, I checked in to get my chemo bag changed. Now, I like the chemo people. They're all very nice. But they're not very efficient, not like my Radiation Girls. I wish they'd give me an actual appointment for the chemo bag changing, but I'm not sure it would help. The lines have to be cleaned out and then a new bag put in, they draw blood (through the port!), put in a new needle, blah blah blah. The nurse told me it would be another 45 minutes and asked if I had some shopping to do in the area. Um, no. I don't actually. My whole goal is to get in and out of the whole cancer center so I can get back to my kids. It's not like I can be gone for two hours, man. So I asked if I could come back later today, and was told that was fine.
It's not perfect, of course. More gas, more of my time. It's too bad they don't have some kind of a rotating bag system or something so it doesn't take a thousand hours.
On the bright side though, I'm bag free for the next handful of hours. And I got a spiffy colorful bandaid over the poke hole in my port. And maybe next time I'll suggest coming in early, having them do the blood work or whatever, and then stopping back after radiation to get hooked up.
The nutrutionist asked you if you eat dairy or meat after you told her your vegan? I'm not really sure what to say...
ReplyDeleteEggs, too. She also asked if I eat eggs. I suggested to Eric that perhaps she'd never met a vegan, or else has met vegetarians who eat fish (and many vegetarians do, though that's NOT vegetarian). Lots of vegetarians are ovo-lacto. She just didn't know how hardcore I am, hahahahaha.
ReplyDeleteOh girl. I hate talking to nutritionists. But alas. The reason they ask those dorky questions is because you'd be surprised how many people consider themselves to be Vegetarian but aren't. My sister told her Health Risk Assesment advisor that she stopped eating meat. I said know you didn't. She said what do you mean? I said what do you consider stopping eating meat? She said that she has only eaten steak once this month. My husband and I laughed at her and she didn't get the joke. I could go on and on about the protein issue... but I have already babbled enough.....
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