For a lot of young people hospital food can be hard to stomach after a while. At the start it doesn’t seem so bad but slowly the repetitiveness and towards the end of the stay the smell is enough to turn you away!

How did other people overcome the food issues? I would be interested in hearing other peoples stories on how they managed with the hospital food.

There is a microwave which we would heat things up for my partner from a can. It amazes me how much you can actually get in a can these days!!

Well, I know when I was in hospital I was neutropenic, so I had no other option However I have a great photo I took of my dinner one night.. it was a crumbed piece of fish, and apple juice and that was it.

It was ridiculous.

However, when I was allowed it, I had mum bring me in loads of fresh fruit, those breakfast drinks (Up n Go's), fruit smoothies, and luckily there is a great salad joint around the corner from the hospital which is great as well - unfortunately, I didnt know about that until after treatment, but I recommend it to everyone!

I suppose its just checking with the nurses etc about what your actual health, what youre allowed etc, and then finding places nearby which arent too far to get decent healthy food.

Personally, I never found I wanted too much junk food - healthy fresh stuff was the main aim.

A very hot topic discussed on any ward especially those undergoing chemo.

Reports from other patients from rural hospitals is that generally the food in the large hospitals is worse. And as you mentioned the smell alone is enough to make you turn.

Personally I have found rice and corn cakes with peanut butter or hummus crucial for my survival along with some light tomato flavoured pastas for a little more substance. The sweet tooth isn’t too much of a problem and my partner brought a lot of my food in for me for the first two months induction stint I had over June – July. None of the staff have ever had a problem with what food is brought to the hospital.

I think for me especially this second time as the side effects of the chemo hit me so hard so quickly it was a matter of eating whatever I could pallet and keep down. I’m craving fresh fruit and veg, salads, juicing etc but know it sometimes doesn’t cut it as far as what my appetite wants. My cousin works in a hospital as a dietician and has worked a lot with the oncology unit and she said your body will tell you what you want so eat what you want but try to get enough protein and vit C. The fruit and milk drinks come highly recommended.

I don’t think you should be hard on yourself if you don’t eat well for several days as long as you’re getting some food down. There was also the advice on eating food that contains too many bacteria, such as soft cheeses, some seafood, and food that may not be cooked properly. Your doctors should have told you about all that to prevent picking up infections when your neutrophils are low.

Eating little bits frequently – grazing, is great to keep the appetite going too, especially if your doctors have you on steroid medication that may have a side effect known to build appetite.

It’s probably the biggest challenge we face in hospital so good luck with it and just keep trying different things. I think I will have my requirements sorted out for my third and final stint when I return again in several months.

Tri Man – from the inside.

Hi

I found that during my last treatment in aug/sept of this year that i had trouble keeping my food down. The kitchen staff were really good and everyday would come and ask me what i would like and they would try and get it for me. The nursing staff were good too, providing that my family cleared it with them, i could get most foods i wanted, one night i have a roast chicken dinner with roast vegies, it was nice, hospital dinner was fish or mango chicken and niether of them sat nice in my stomach.

Ness

I found I craved things that I inevitably wasn't allowed to have because I was neutropenic...like shrimp and cocktail sauce. Go figure. I remember the nurses all being very confused that patients who spent half the day throwing up spent the other half watching the food network on TV, but it's because we want to be able to enjoy food again.

I think bad hospital food is a universal problem. The hospital I stayed in was a cancer specific hospital, and provided a wide range of choices for those who couldn't stomach much. However, pretty much all of the choices ended up being pretty bad. If I had to recommend something, I would say to try and keep to light foods that are easier on the stomach...I actually took a liking to salad for a while once I was allowed to eat it again.

Peter, I hear you loud and clear about watching cooking programs on TV. Seems to be what I plan my days around at present - and have for the last six weeks sadly enough. But as the appetite returns I find I’m spending more time in the kitchen rather than viewing it from the sofa.

DanT previously joked about the Ensure milk drinks and they are pretty hard to stomach at the best of times but necessary if you want some kind of sustenance from the hospital food. Sounds like the hospital you stayed at made an effort at least to try and feed you what you wanted. Some of us get very limited choices which made me very critical in a recent patient survey of the food provided where I’m treated. I’m still waiting for them to call my phone number that I provided for further feedback due to running out of page. Won’t hold my breath.

Yeh, I couldn't stand Ensure either. I've also filled out numerous hospital surveys, and sometimes wonder if they ever look at them. Good to hear you're getting your appetite back...at least steriod pills are good for something.

For me hospital food sucked i hate it soo much.. that is one of the reason why i hate hospitals. I always ask my mother bring food or if she can't one my realtions bring me some food.. but i guess hospital food is healthy choice.. but its horrible sometimes you take a look at it and you feel sick and don't feel like eating.. i wish their was better choices hehe
oh well glad alot people out their
who think hopital food is not the right choice
thanks vani

What an interesting thread this is , although I will admit to feeling a bit queazy in the stomach having red your de_script_ions of some of the hospital food .

Here are some _link_s to a campaign being run by the UK charity called CLIC Sargent: "CLIC Sargent is the UK's leading children's cancer charity. We provide the widest range of services and the highest number of care professionals to look after children and young people with cancer and their families. Our services are tailored to family-needs, using feedback from our service-users".

"CLIC Sargent is delighted that the Secretary of State for Health Alan Johnson MP has given his support to its Fit to Eat camapign. This exciting campaign wants to ensure that all children and young people with cancer have access to decent, age appropriate food when they are in hospital".

"CLIC Sargent wants to work with hospitals and help them to get it right – we are not seeking to criticise individual hospitals but to provide ideas and solutions to make sure food is fit to eat. We have produced detailed, practical guidelines for hospitals on providing food for children and young people with cancer".

The guidelines are here - it's a pdf file about 3 mb
http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Getinvolved/Campaignwithus/FittoEat/Guidelinesforhospitals/main_content/CLICSargent_fittoeatguidelines_final.pdf

There's a short media briefing on the topic here:
http://www.clicsargent.org.uk/Getinvolved/Campaignwithus/FittoEat/main_content/FitToEatMediaBriefing.pdf

Here's a quote:
"The most effective models for providing food for children with cancer are those which have a dedicated children’s service, in the form of an on-ward chef or a specialist kitchen. However, space and budgetary restrictions mean that many hospitals aren’t able to provide this level of service."

"A dedicated food coordinator could be the point of contact for any food requests and who is responsible for getting to know a child’s needs and preferences and who employs a series of strategies to encourage children to eat. They would have a close relationship with dieticians, nurses and catering staff to ensure the child’s needs are taken into consideration when providing meals and snacks".

Cheers,
Ed.