Archive for November, 2008

Marmite


MarmiteOne of the many wonderful side effects of (the chemotherapy drug) Doxorubicin is mouth sores.

My mom has been lucky so far, we’re in Cycle 1 Day 3 and so far side effects have been minimal.

Of course her hair is totally gone, everyone says her bald head and round rimmed glasses makes her look a like Ghandi!

She’s generally weak and has no appetite.

She started developing mouth sores in Cycle 1 Day 2, it got so bad it hurt to brush at some point.

Her oncologist prescribed Magic Mouthwash and that helped a little.

A few days ago my mom informed us that she no longer had mouth sores!

“A miracle,” I proclaimed!

“No, Marmite” she said It turns out Marmite cures mouth sores! Who knew?

Marmite is a dark brown-coloured savoury spread made from the yeast that is a by-product of the brewing industry. It has a very strong, slightly salty flavour. It is definitely a love-it-or-hate-it type of food.

I remember when we were kids; my sister was diagnosed with anaemia and her Dr. recommended marmite as part of her diet, it turned out she had Thalassemia but that’s how our household got into eating marmite. My mom was convinced it had magical powers – why else would it taste so awful?.

I brought back a huge Squeeze Me tub back from London last year, it’s a little runnier than the original.

Thankfully Marmite is readily available here in (the spreads section) most supermarkets because that’s the only thing that seems to help with her mouth sores.

I did some googling and it turns out marmite does help with mouth ulcers.

In Therapy


I’m sitting there twirling my thumbs, a little uncomfortable – I look around the office. I paste on a smile as she takes another sip from her moomin mug. The silence has stretched on for a bit now – it’s almost painful, I picture walking out, being free.

She looks straight at me and says in a rather loud voice “it’s also important to understand that this isn’t your fault”

“What isn’t my fault?” I ask confused

“It’s important that you don’t blame yourself for this, it’s not your fault that your mother has breast cancer” She elaborates.

I sit up scrunching my face to register my confusion and go, “What!?

Does she really think that I believe that I somehow caused my mother’s ailment?

What am I, 8? I’m not that self-centred!

I do realize that sometimes people get sick and it has nothing to do with me, it’s not always about me.

She must really think I’m an idiot

I can’t believe I’m giving this woman $150/session to screw with my head.


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