Q: My mother has undergone surgery since she has cancer in the gall bladder. Presently, she is undergoing chemotherapy. As per the doctors, she has stage II cancer. I want to ask what diet should she take during chemotherapy to avoid its side effects? How can we know if the cancer in the body has got cured?

A:First of all the details of the surgery should be known. If the cancer gall bladder was detected incidentally in a normal cholecystectomy (either laparoscopic or open), then probably before chemotherapy she should have undergone a more radical surgery. If a more radical surgery has been done then she should continue with the chemotherapy and she may be a candidate for locoregional radiotherapy for better disease control. She should continue to take good, nutritious, easily digestible food. There is no fool proof method to know the exact cancer load in the body. A PET Scan can be helpful in this regard.