We’re committed to providing you with the very best cancer care, and your safety continues to be a top priority. This is just one more way of ensuring your safety and that of our staff. This information will help you get the nutrients you need during your cancer treatment. It explains important food safety guidelines and ways to add calories and protein to your diet. It also explains how different cancer treatments may affect your eating and what you can do to help manage common side effects. Good nutrition is very important for people with cancer. There may be some changes you can make now that will help you during treatment. Start by following a healthy diet.
Cancer patients struggle to maintain adequate nutrition owing to multiple reasons like general disinterest in food, reduced appetite, altered taste due to treatment, side effects like vomiting and diarrhoea or intolerance to regular food. Lack of adequate nutrition results in further problems for the patients as it affects their general condition making them weak and vulnerable to more side effects and infections. Eventually, these problems lead to inability to continue cancer treatment and interruptions leading to poor outcomes. The purpose of a diet plan is to ensure that the cancer patient improves their food intake. This will reduce the risk of interruptions in their scheduled anti-cancer treatment, thereby improving the treatment outcomes and their overall quality of life. It is generally recommended that a cancer patient should consume calories 25 to 30 kcal per kg of their weight, per day. Proteins are the most important component of their diet and 1. It is recommended that the patient has five to six smaller meals per day, as opposed to three large meals. Physical activity like walking and light exercises will improve your appetite and help you consume the complete calorie intake recommended for you. If required, your doctor may prescribe medication to improve your appetite. A balanced diet for cancer patients will include more vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
Access your health information from any device with MyHealth. You can message your clinic, view lab results, schedule an appointment, and pay your bill. Nutrition is an important part of life, cancer treatment, recovery, and prevention. Food is one of the few things you can be in control of during your treatment. It is recommended that you eat lightly on your chemotherapy day. Eating small portions slowly and every few hours seem to work best. Avoid skipping meals on these days and eating fatty, greasy or spicy foods. During chemotherapy take a small, bland snack with you. Juices and supplements as Ensure or Boost are usually available where you are receiving chemotherapy; however ask in advance if these and any other foods are available. Make an appointment today with one of our cancer dietitians to begin managing your nutrition. In honor of Colon Cancer Awareness month, we’ll be featuring four colorectal cancer friendly recipes each week during the month of March.