• GAG | eating life with head & neck cancer Ep 60 - 120

  • By: Yvonne McClaren
  • Podcast

GAG | eating life with head & neck cancer Ep 60 - 120

By: Yvonne McClaren
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  • Summary

  • Unearthing the social impact of head & neck cancer & how to live your best food life with or without cutlery. Honest, lived experience on how to stay positive, stay connected when you are struggling to sit at the table.

    yvonnemcclaren.substack.com
    Yvonne McClaren
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Episodes
  • Adapting to Spain's culinary landscape with dysphagia.

    Adapting to Spain's culinary landscape with dysphagia.
    Sep 12 2024
    My Google Translated Elevator Pitch … Side effects of head and neck cancer treatment means I have trouble swallowing food & drink.It’s happening.I am about to navigate 6 weeks of eating on the hoof, away from my kitchen and most importantly, away from my country of origin. I am travelling half way around the world to walk across the Pyrenees and Spain. The Camino Frances I have experience of course, two previous Caminos under my belt, my very first Camino hand selected based on the food alone. The Portuguese Coastal way, think soft fleshed fish, BBQ vegetables and soup instead of crusty bread, cheese and meat, like ham & bacon. The perfect bacon I had all but given up on, presented itself on the buffet at the hotel I first stayed in Porto. Unlike failed attempts to eat “bacon” in Australia, it was soft, flavourful and seem to disintegrate on impact. I put it down to the pig, the way it was raised, my attempts in Australia was akin to chewing shards of glass, little joy in any of that. That was the plan, it worked well and I ate fish soup, a lot of garlic bread and plenty of beautiful fresh fish with steamed potato and sometimes mayonnaise. I had a lot of stunning coffee (cafe branco) and pastries filled with sweet custards dusted with icing sugar. I consumed tuna and fish pastries and quite unexpectedly I did not choke, sneeze or gag much, if at all. The pastries had enough fat to slide and if and when they caught, I had coffee and or water on hand. Stunning pocket sized morsels that kept me going kilometre after gruelling kilometre.I chose the Portuguese coastal way as my first Camino for no other reason than my expectation of the food on offer. It turned out that I could manage quite a variety of food, including some breads, some cold meats and definitely the beer and the Portuguese wine - mental note to self, don’t talk yourself into not being able to eat something. I talk about the food here to some length in takes you to my You Tube channel.Eating in Portugal go to time stamp 3 mins where I speak directly to thoughts as to why I could manage something like bacon in Portugal but as to why it varied between establishments. I also love the ocean and the two combined made an ideal active holiday for me. The first one since head and neck cancer treatment and my first in Europe. I spent the majority and most of my adult life in Australia and South East Asia, so to experience Europe in Portugal whilst walking a spiritual path was the perfect introduction for me. In Portugal I noticed olive oil was served with most things, little acoutrement packages of oil, mayonnaise, mustard, sauce - every where I went that meant I could add a little moisture to food that I sampled. I was surprised with what I could manage and as my confidence grew walking, so did my food repertoire. The only meal I had which caused me some problems was smoked salmon and avocado in Lisbon. I carefully selected what I thought I could manage off the menu but it came smothered in a seeds and the avocado was too unripe for me to manage. I couldn’t chew it, break it down nor swallow it easily, it also came with lettuce and we all know how that turns out.I went hungry that night and there was no kettle in my room so I couldn’t prepare a cup of soup or a cup of tea. Be aware, Spain and Portugal don’t as a rule have kettles in rooms so preparing soup in a cup or noodles when desperate was not possible. Spain - what’s next. I am excited and filled with anticipation as to how Spain will unfold. I am only in France for a few days and I suspect that will be a different culinary experience again. My first two Caminos gave me an enormous amount of food confidence, food confidence I had not realised had been eroded from many months of Peg tube feeding, my relationship with food had changed dramatically and the process of walking and eating became symbiotic and the process to which my new life began.I don’t panic about what I can eat, I know that there will always be something I can manage even if I can’t communicate internal radiated fibroids in Portuguese or Spanish but what I can say is this …Los efectos secundarios del tratamiento del cáncer de cabeza y cuello significan que tengo problemas para tragar alimentos y bebidas. Translated means Side effects of head and neck cancer treatment means I have trouble swallowing food & drink.What Spain will provide is part of my food learning journey, I will not pack any additional preconceived food fears, I will pack healthy optimism and the knowledge that I must try to eat at least 3000 calories a day to compensate the 25-30 kms of walking. I know there is considerable amounts of meat available and often selecting any vegetarian options are just easier from a dental hygiene (ORN) and time perspective (eating with others). I have lost weight on previous Caminos and chocolate, Portuguese custard tarts (Pastel de nata) and wine became a staple in my daily eating and main calories (...
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    Less than 1 minute
  • Reclaiming my life.

    Reclaiming my life.
    Aug 23 2024

    House Keeping: Some of the content I share here is really early days for me - literally weeks after treatment so you will notice hair changes, skin changes, speech changes and likely weight changes.

    I am going to take you on my healing journey and provide some insight into what I have learnt along the way.

    It will hopefully help those at the beginning and those (like me) a little way down the healing track.

    I just found this video clip I did for Facebook back in 2019.

    Not my best recording, the intent being for close family and friends not for platforms like Substack, still it serves a purpose for those early in their journey, or like me 5 years + out and maybe need a kick start again. A reminder to how far we have all come on our individual journeys.

    This was 5 years ago.

    I was still struggling to speak and recall I wanted to help people understand head and neck cancer treatment (me included) and I thought (love those drugs!) a mass video would do the trick. Little did I know, that this family video was the impetus for this publication GAG. | eating life that you are now reading.

    It never fails to surprise me the progress made and how challenges are faced and conquered. I hadn’t realised I was still PEG tube feeding when I filmed this and that might explain why I look so gaunt. Pouring commercial formula into a tube in my abdomen. I was on a lot of drugs and really I had no idea conceptually what was going on around me if I am being honest. It wasn’t until I started to peel off the individual drugs that reality hit, and it hit hard, right when Covid took over the world. I curled up in the corner and just let it take its course. I healed with the world.

    I posted this to help those that might need motivation, that might need to hear another’s journey, if for no other reason than to commiserate.

    It does and can get better, I am living proof of that, I still have my tough days and the longer I move away from my treatment year, the more subtle and challenging the new way of living becomes.

    Like you, I have had to find my way & manage the days, the nights and I will share with you over the next few weeks some of my recorded journey.

    Below is an episode all about dental care and what I have learnt. May 2023 - This is a recorded version of my Podcast - GAG | eating life.

    Thanks for joining me here today and as always …

    Resources can be found here

    Eat Well.



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yvonnemcclaren.substack.com/subscribe
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    6 mins
  • Grace.

    Grace.
    Aug 10 2024



    This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit yvonnemcclaren.substack.com/subscribe
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    1 min
Personal Success
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