I’ve been struggling with nausea ever since cancer treatment began, which is over a year ago. And I’m sick of it! LOL.

Of course, the docs have given me nausea medication, two different kinds: one that dissolves under my tongue, the other a pill that I swallow. Neither of them worked for me, even when I took both at the same time. Moderation has never been my strong suit.

Somewhere back in my memory, I remember hearing that mint helped settle the stomach. Ginnie and I were on our way to a movie, “F1” with Brad Pitt, Damson Idris and Javier Bardem. I was nauseous and knew the movie, which involved Formula 1 race cars, would be a wild, roller coaster type crash-movie. I decided to forgo popcorn and went for the Junior Mints instead. It was amazing how fast the Junior Mints settled my stomach, even with the topsy-turvy cinematography. BTW: if you haven’t seen “F1” see it. I’d rate it right up there with “Ford v Ferrari” and “Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”

Since the Junior Mints worked so well, on our way home, we stopped at a convenience store and bought a handful of York Peppermint Patties. They also did a good job of quelling the nausea, like a fire blanket on a kitchen fire.

So I’m wondering, why isn’t there mint soda pop? There’s mint everything else: mint juleps, minty mojitos, peppermint schnapps, peppermint candy, peppermint sticks, mint tea, peppermint gum. Why isn’t there mint cola? If there can be vanilla cola, and there is, and lemon-lime soda pop, why not mint?

Maybe I should write the soft drink companies. “Hey, Marketing Department, wanna be first with a mint drink? Mint has been known to settle queasy stomachs.” I could pitch the slogan, “Just a hint of mint in’t.” My testimonial might be a winner. Maybe mint soft drinks could become a staple for cancer patients, like Junior Mints are a staple for movie goers. You never know.

Then I got the wild idea that mint chocolate chip ice cream might be just the ticket. I was in the grocery store buying mint-chip ice cream. I ran into a friend. She noticed my mint ice cream. It was the only thing in the cart. I explained to her that mint seemed to work pretty well in quelling my nausea. She said that she grew mint and that it had gone wild in her garden. It’s very invasive. She would bring us a gob. Or we could stop by and she and her husband would fix us virgin mojitos. We did, and they’re quite tasty with the fresh mint. You have to use a muddler to crush the mint leaves to force the mint juice out. Mojitos, virgin or with real rum are a great summertime drink. My stomach was soothed instantly.

Ginnie’s looking forward to mint ice tea. Maybe I could spread it on salads. Hmm. Mint Vinaigrette.

But praise the Lord, since I have been eating mint’n chip ice cream, my nausea is almost completely gone (except when I eat catfish nuggets). And with it, the diarrhea. My blood sugar might be outta sight, but by golly, at least now I’m not living in the bathroom, and am able to go about a somewhat “normal” life. I remember kids and some adults who survived on ice cream when they had strep throat or tonsillitis. It didn’t seem to hurt them any.

Ginnie just shakes her head. She had been searching for the right diet for me that wouldn’t make me sick, and fixing anything I asked for, like poached eggs (I’m so spoiled). She never dreamed in her wildest imagination that ice cream would be the answer.

But she’s not sorry there’s mint-chip ice cream in the freezer, either.

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Have a good story? Call or text Curt Swarm in Mt. Pleasant at 319-217-0526 or email him at curtswarm@yahoo.com. Curt is available for public speaking