Introduction:
Healthy nutrition plays a vital role in cancer treatment and prevention. Nutritional deficiencies lead to fatigue and a lower quality of life during cancer treatment. The treatment of cancer, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery, and hormone therapy, can cause the patient to be unable to eat properly, which results in malnutrition. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), adequate nutrition during treatment can help improve the immune system, which lowers the risk of infection and leads to faster healing and recovery. It is also essential to prevent weight loss and maintain the energy required to handle all the difficulties during the treatments.
What Role Does Nutrition Play During Cancer Treatment?
Nutrition plays an essential role in maintaining a balanced diet for people with cancer. These balanced diets can help people with cancer in the following ways:
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Improving the body’s immune response to treatment.
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To maintain a healthy weight.
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Increase the ability to tolerate pain and side effects from treatment.
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Helps in lowering the risk of infection.
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Helps in reducing the side effects like vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and changes in taste.
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Helps in faster healing and recovery.
What Are the Key Nutrients Important During Cancer Treatment?
Carbohydrates:
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Carbohydrates provide energy to our bodies. People with cancer should add naturally occurring sugars, found in a few fruits and vegetables, rather than adding processed foods or packaged foods to their diet.
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It is a common misperception that sugar help in the development of cancer. Though cancer cells need more energy because of their increased growth rate, it is not advisable to avoid all the sugar, believing it stops the cancerous growth.
Proteins:
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Protein is more important in a cancer patient's diet to repair the good cells that are damaged by chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
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When protein intake is inadequate, it delays the recovery time from disease and lowers the body’s resistance to infection.
Water:
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Since cancer and cancer treatments cause vomiting and diarrhea, it leads to large amounts of water and fluid loss from your body. So it is necessary to consume water to make up for the loss.
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The fluids and minerals needed for the proper functioning of the body can go out of balance due to dehydration.
Vitamins and Minerals:
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To promote the body's smooth functioning and utilize the calories (energy) present in food, vitamins and minerals are required.
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These are present naturally in many good foods and are also available as supplements.
Fats: They act as anti-inflammatory agents.
Anti-oxidants: Vitamins A, C, E, zinc, and selenium are antioxidants that prevent cancer cells from attacking normal cells.
How Do Cancer and Cancer Treatment Lead to Malnutrition?
Cancer and cancer treatments may impair one's ability to taste, smell, eat enough food, or absorb nutrients from food, resulting in malnutrition.
Cancer and Malnutrition:
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If cancer progresses or spreads, it may worsen malnutrition by lowering the patient’s quality of life and making them more susceptible to death.
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Individuals with cancer may develop a common symptom called anorexia, the most common cause of malnutrition in cancer. It is characterized by loss of appetite or desire to eat.
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Some patients may also develop cachexia, a condition marked by weakness, weight loss, loss of fat and muscle, and tumors that affect eating and digestion and prevent the body from storing fat and muscle.
Cancer Treatments and Malnutrition:
Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy which are the side effects of cancer treatments, may lead to malnutrition and dehydration, which include:
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Loss of appetite may be more common with the treatments for stomach, pancreatic, lung, and ovarian cancers.
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Nausea and vomiting are most commonly associated with chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
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Taste and smell changes may result from damage to the taste buds caused by chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgical oncology, which may also contribute to a loss of appetite.
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Mucositis develops from digestive tract inflammation and results in painful ulcers in the mouth, throat, and gastrointestinal tract.
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Constipation and diarrhea are commonly associated with chemotherapy, medications, radiation therapy, and surgical procedures.
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Dry mouth results from medications taken during chemotherapy and radiation therapy targeting head and neck cancers. It leads to the underproduction of saliva, which may change a patient’s sense of taste and cause difficulty in swallowing.
What Are the Diet Recommendations During Cancer Treatment?
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Making conscious food choices will help the immune system to fight against cancer.
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Maintaining the proper balance of food and nutrient intake while undergoing cancer treatment is challenging due to various cancers, treatments available, and potential side effects.
Guidelines for a healthy diet during cancer treatment include:
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Whole grains like whole-wheat, brown rice, etc.
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Add two to three cups of vegetables to the diet.
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Add one to two cups of fruit to the diet.
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Add dried beans, peas, lentils, and legumes for additional protein.
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Low-fat dairy or a dairy substitute for calcium.
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Skinless poultry and cold water ocean fish two to three times per week.
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Healthy fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts, and seeds can be added.
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Clean water.
What Are the Diet Recommendations After Cancer Treatment?
Cancer survivors must maintain a healthy diet because they may be more susceptible to other health conditions like heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and weakening bones.
To reduce the risk of other diseases, cancer survivors are recommended as follows:
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Maintaining a healthy weight.
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Eating a rich, nutrient-dense, and plant-based diet.
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Staying physically active.
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Minimizing alcohol consumption.
What Are the Preventive Food Safety Measures to Be Taken for Cancer Patients?
Due to the poor immune systems of people with cancer, preventive food safety measures should be taken, such as
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Washing hands before and while preparing food.
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Rinsing vegetables and fruits thoroughly before eating them.
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Use separate cutting boards for vegetables and meats.
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Consume fully cooked foods rather than raw eggs/fish.
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Do not consume unpasteurized foods, and check for the expiry date before consumption.
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Foods that are liable to spoil should be refrigerated within hours of buying.
Conclusion:
Although managing the diet during and after cancer treatment can be challenging, it may give some control over the treatment. To enhance the treatment outcome and prepare for survival, it is worth the effort to maintain your weight, nutritional status, and activity level. Hence, it may be beneficial to have a team prepared to approach the various challenges of getting healthy nutrition.
