Nutrition for cancer patients

Overview

Food is ingested and utilized by the body through a process called nutrition which helps in tissue repair, growth, and maintenance of the body. A healthy diet is essential to maintain good health. A healthy diet consists of foods and beverages that supply the body with essential nutrients such as: carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, and water.

A diet with a focus on plant-based foods along with regular exercise will help cancer patients keep a healthy body weight, maintain strength, and decrease side effects both during and after treatment. Cancer and its treatments can cause side effects that affect nutrition of cancer patients.

Types of Cancer

Causes

Cellular DNA mutations are the root cause of cancer. A cell’s DNA is organized into numerous distinct genes, each of which carries a set of instructions directing the cell’s performance of specific tasks as well as its growth and division. Incorrect instructions can make a cell stop functioning normally and even give it the chance to develop cancer.

Common Symptoms

• Fatigue
• Weight changes, including unintended loss or gain
• Yellowing, darkening or redness in the skin
• Sores that doesn’t heal on the skin
• Abnormal bowel or bladder habits
• Persistent cough
• Breathing difficulty
• Difficulty swallowing
• Hoarseness
• Persistent indigestion or discomfort after eating
• Unexplained muscle or joint pain
• Unexplained fever o
• Unexplained bleeding

Diagnosis

• Lab tests
• Imaging tests
• CT scans
• MRIs
• Nuclear scan
• Bone scan
• PET scan
• Ultrasound
• X-rays
• Biopsy

Risk Factors

• Age
• Lifestyle habits
• Family history
• Health condition
• The environment you live in

Treatment

• Chemotherapy
• Hormone therapy
• Radiation therapy
• Surgery
• Immunotherapy
• Stem cell transplant

How Cancer treatment affects nutrition

Taste, smell, appetite, and the capacity to consume enough food or absorb nutrients from food can be impacted by cancer treatments. This can cause malnutrition in cancer patients.

A patient who is malnourished may become weak, exhausted, and won’t be able to fight off an infection or complete cancer treatment. Malnutrition can consequently worsen their quality of life and even endanger their life. The progression or spread of the cancer may exacerbate malnutrition.

Protein and calories must be consumed in the proper proportions to promote healing, fight infection, and provide adequate energy. Nutritional support has to be given to cancer patients if they cannot eat. This can be done in two ways: external nutrition and parenteral nutrition. External nutrition is given using a tube inserted to the stomach or intestine. Parenteral nutrition is infused into their bloodstream.

Prevention

• Stop smoking
• Reduce the exposure to sun
• Eat healthy
• Exercise every day
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Alcohol should be consumed in moderation
• Screen for cancer