Here’s a list of best products I recommend to buy in South Africa for all the weird & wonderful ailments that some with having cancer.

Mouth Sores

I did not expect the intensity with which mouth sores they came to plague my life. Apparently they occur as chemo and radiation treatment kill the cancer cells but it also kills the quickly regenerating cells in your body. Our mouths are one of the quickest healing parts of our bodies so, the treatments tend to attack the mouth lining. This leaves the mouth very sore.

For lip sores, I managed to locate the Epimax Ultra Ointment. Let me tell you, this is the BEST product for the Sahara desert level cracking that happens on your lips. You can find this bad boy at Dischem, Clicks & Takelot & I carry mine EVERYWHERE.

For the internal mouth sores (& sometimes sore throat that follows) from chemo, I have to recommend good old Andolex Spray. It stings when applied but trust me, it helps numb the mouth so you can eat a bit easier. Another product I have come across for mouth sores is Orochem which has been great in treating mouth sores quickly.

For the mouth sores that come from radiation, rinsing with the salt, bicarb and water mix detailed below is your best bet along with some pain relief medication.

Oral Hygiene

It is imperative that your oral hygiene is looked after throughout cancer treatment – even when it’s painful. Chemo & radiation causes your gums to become sensitive & oral surgery results in a lot of awkward teeth cleaning. So, like any logical person, I went & bought a children’s toothbrush. Trust me, the bristles are softer & the brush is smaller which makes the process way less painful. It’s not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination but it does the trick. Another alternative my oral hygienist recommended is to make use of some good old gauze. Wet it, put some super plain toothpaste on it & use that to clean your gums & teeth.

Rinsing with a homemade mix 1L of boiled water with 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate soda & 1 tablespoon of salt is also a great way to kill of any lingering germs.

Mucus Build Up

Radiation treating head and neck cancers is known to cause excess mucus/phlegm build up. My doctor recommended drinking ACC200’s and to make use of a nebulizer with saline water in to break this down.

Insomnia & Sleeping

Something I was definitely not aware of, was that cancer treatment effects sleep more than you know. While sleep is healing, it can sometimes be easier said than done to get a good nights rest in. Chemotherapy treatment can cause difficulty sleeping & that it is important to stay elevated while sleeping post-surgery & while receiving radiation treatment. The swelling caused by surgery and radiation require you to stay upright to ensure good airflow while sleeping. Sleeping flat can increase your chances of choking.

It’s important to stay away from any screens (cell phone or TV) for a good 30 minutes before your sleep. In addition to this, a natural or over the counter sleeping tablet works. My go-to has been Betasleep, just 1 of these can to enough to ensuring your rest is undisturbed.

For sleeping in a more elevated position I invested in a pillow designed for this purpose. Reference image below. I got mine from MRP Home and it has done a great job and keeping me upright both during the day when reading or drinking tea and at night while sleeping.

Dry Throat & Lips

You can often wake up in the morning with a terribly dry throat & cracked lips. As such, my dear parents looked into ways that we could reduce the dryness in the air to combat this side effect. This led us down a wonderful path in which we invested in a diffuser. With this, we learnt that essential oils can play an important role in natural recovery. Currently I have Eucalyptus & Lemon Essential Oils on hand (both from Dischem). Eucalyptus helps with breathing & keeping the air clean while lemon has been known to help with nausea & boost oral health. This has been an absolute lifesaver & a big recommendation from my end. Pop this bad boy on before bed and you wake up far better off than without it.

Compromised Immunity

You are classed as immunocompromised once you start chemotherapy. This means you are far more likely to catch an illness compared to the average person. A strong recommendation that I have abided to is making use of a mask whenever I am in close proximity with others. I understand it can be tedious & a bit of a pain but the risk is simply not worth it. Should you be in contact with anyone who has a contagious illness, it can cause massive complications to your health & treatment.

Another must-do is to take in as many vitamins & minerals as possible. I do this by taking the following supplements each day after breakfast:

• 1x Multivitamin
• 1x Probihotic
• 1x Omega 3 Supplement
• 1x Vitamin D Supplement

During radiation making sure to cook and prepare meals made of fresh ingredients was a great way to keep my energy up. In addition to this, Ensure Gold is a lifesaver to getting extra goodness into your system. I would often have an Ensure Gold through my peg tube in the afternoons to keep me going.

Another option is drinking natural fruit juices to get in some additional vitamins. My dietician recommended Rugani Fruit Juices as they are packed with loads of goodness for your system.

Port Implant

Should you have a port implanted for your chemotherapy treatment, I cannot recommend enough making use of some numbing cream around the area of your port before going in for treatment. I received this tip from a few different people & it is a game changer.

I have been using Emla numbing cream before treatment, you can get some in a local Clicks. Simply apply some on & around your port area about 30 minutes before treatment & place some cling film over the area to heat it up a bit. By the time the nurses start hooking you up, you won’t feel a thing. You can thank me later.

General Pain

Cancer & its treatment is so unpredictable. A big thing to be aware of is that you cannot drink any medication containing disprin. This will cause your blood to thin which you should avoid at all costs when having chemo.

As such, the nurses have recommended sticking to the good old Panado for any sort of pain that you may experience & believe it or not, it does work. Obviously when it comes to surgery recovery you are prescribed far stronger medication.

Another recent find that has been a great help during the periods when swallowing is difficult, has been Panado Effervescent Tablets. These have done wonders to dull pain even when swallowing tablets is difficult. These are also great when if you have a peg tube like I did as you can dissolve the tablet and put it through the syringe and into your tube. For more intense pain, I would recommend Mybulen (over the counter) or Synaleve (this is prescription medication).

Scars

Naturally, surgery recovery comes with its fair share of scars. Bio-oil is the best product to treat scars resulting from cuts. My doctor recommended rubbing the bio-oil in as if you’re trying to “rub off” the scar. This helps create blood circulation and induce healing. Skin flaps and skin grafts are best treated with standard vaseline/ petroleum jelly.

Peg Tube

The peg tube essentials shopping list is as follows:

• 60ml Plastic Syringes (usually available for purchase at hospital pharmacies)
• Jugs
• A large sieve
• Coke (for peg tube cleaning)
• Loads of fresh food
• A blender
• Patience

Looking after a peg tube can be a tricky endeavor but it is truly a lifesaver when recovering from surgery and going through radiation. All food that is made for the peg tube has to be blended and then sieved before it can be place into the tube through the syringe. The average meal is approximately 300-500ml in size, three times a day along with 2-3 water/liquid breaks a day of 200-250ml.

Meals & Eating

What I would do for ease of convenience is make large pot meals once or twice a week. In a pot I would cook chicken or pork mince (protein but far easier than beef to sieve. Alternatively, beans are a great option), potatoes, onions, 2 veggies (i.e. broccoli, pumpkin, carrots, marrows, cauliflower) all cooked in about 1.5-2 liters of stock and hot water for about an hour. Once soft, all the food is blended together (glamorous, I know) and then sieved. I would then measure out portions and place each portion into a container to be placed into the freezer for easy picking.

For breakfast I would often make a fresh meal. Throwing a few fruits (banana, fruit salad, avocado, berries etc.) into the blender with plain yoghurt, milk and Future Life. Mix it all up, sieve and feed. Nice and easy! Avoid any fruits that have ‘skins’ like grapes as they do not blend well.

Transitioning from peg tube feeding back to regular eating is really like learning to eat again. I highly recommend making use of wooden sticks instead of cutlery to help place your food in your mouth while also ensuring you are taking in small bits at a time. I got mine at a local craft store. They are great for transitioning and eating soft foods like mash or mousse where a spoons shape can be a bit uncomfortable.

Skin

Looking after your skin during radiation is incredibly important. For the duration of treatment as well as the first few weeks after it is recommended that only Dove soap bars and aqueous cream are used on the skin. Radiation causes skin irritation so it is important to use very plain products that won’t increase this.

---

Now these are by no means scientific or applicable to all patients but it is what I have been doing & using to get by which I thought they may be helpful. I’ll be sure to add to this list as I go along with treatment. Feel free to share if there are any products you use or have used in the past to combat your side effects!