Just hours after she took her temperature, Jeri Millard was placed in the intensive care unit and was fighting for her life.
Her white blood cell count plummeted. Millard, who was fighting breast cancer, suffered a dangerous setback. She did what she thought were all the right things, such as staying away from sick people because she knew her immune system wasn’t strong enough to handle it.
What she didn’t know was that her body wasn’t strong enough to fight off the bacteria often found on fresh fruits and vegetables. She remembers that her husband worked near a restaurant that made wonderful salads. Millard starting eating them on a regular basis. Often they were topped with fresh fruit — another thing she should have stayed away from considering she was undergoing chemotherapy at the time.
“You think you are taking care of yourself and doing the right thing and it was dangerous,” said Millard, who has been cancer free for 13 years.
Cancer specialist Maria Valente from Hill Breast Center of Baptist Health said Millard was susceptible to illness because she was neutropenic, meaning her white blood cells, the ones that fight infection, were low. And that means fewer body defenses against bacteria and lingering chemicals on such things as raw fruit and vegetables.
Valente said in addition to staying away from raw fruits and vegetables, neutropenic patients — such as those undergoing chemotherapy — should also steer clear of raw meats, poultry, unpasteurized juices and soft cheeses, which also carry the potential for lingering chemicals and bacteria.
“Patients on chemotherapy are of varying risk, depending on how strongly the chemotherapy impacts their immune system,” Valente said.
After being released from the ICU, Millard said she continued to eat healthy, but she no longer eats raw vegetables. Instead, she cooks everything. If she wants fruit, she eats it from a can.
In general, there are no foods cancer patients shouldn’t eat, said Asher Chanan-Khan, professor of medicine and chairman of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Mayo Clinic. But he agreed with Valente that patients need to be careful.
Neutropenic patients should cook all food well, he said.
“A neutropenic diet is everything washed and cleaned thoroughly,” Chanan-Khan said. “Things like salad, we tend to stay away from that.”
He wanted to reiterate that it isn’t the actual food, fruits or vegetables that are the problem — it’s the bacteria that’s on them.
Millard said she wished she would have had that information 13 years ago. Her boutique In the Pink provides items needed by cancer survivors. But she said that another part of her mission is to educate other cancer survivors with information that she learned that can improve their quality of life.
Health experts warn that there is no scientific evidence that any special diet can cure cancer, despite the numerous claims that pop up on the Internet, or that come out in books.
Alternative diets that rely on special supplements or injections, fasting for extended periods or enemas can be harmful to your health — especially if you’re getting treatments for breast cancer, according to breastcancer.org.
Although more research needs to be done on diet and breast cancer, Breastcancer.org notes, findings suggest that physical activity, a healthy diet (particularly one low in fat and high in fiber), and a healthy weight can help reduce the risk of breast cancer or recurrence of cancer.