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What
to eat during cancer treatment
Radiation
-- You can keep up your energy by eating lots of complex
carbohydrates. Try to eat several servings of fruits,
vegetables and whole grains every day.
Chemotherapy
-- A low-fat diet can help prevent nausea.
Focus on foods that have lots of complex carbohydrates
and sufficient protein.
Surgery
-- Depending on the type of surgery you are undergoing, your
doctor may prescribe a special diet for you.
What
to eat after treatment
Radiation
-- To decrease risk of nausea and vomiting, avoid eating
directly after treatment.
When you do feel ready to eat, choose foods that are
high in protein and calories.
You may want to avoid dairy products, which can cause
lactose intolerance, a frequent cause of abdominal discomfort.
Good choices are soft foods that are cool in
temperature and easy to chew.
Chemotherapy
-- To keep nausea and vomiting to a minimum, avoid eating or
drinking for two hours after treatment.
When you are ready to eat, have frequent mini-meals and
snacks in place of large meals to help keep up your energy and
prevent you from loosing weight. Make sure you drink lots of fluids to flush out waste
products that have built up during treatment.
Surgery
-- You may not be able to eat a normal diet directly after
surgery. Based on the type of surgery you have had, you may
temporarily need to be fed through a vein or through a feeding
tube in the nose or stomach, or your doctor may prescribe one
of the following special diets for you:
Clear
liquid diet -- This diet is usually used for one or two
days after surgery when the body is not yet ready to digest
solid food. It is
also helpful in preventing dehydration during periods of
nausea and vomiting. Clear
liquids include clear broth, juice, Jell-O, weak tea, and
caffeine free soda.
Full
liquid diet -- You may be given this diet when you are
ready for something more substantial than a clear liquid diet,
but your body still is not ready to digest solid food.
Full liquids are also helpful when chewing and
swallowing are difficult.
Items found on the full liquid diet include milk,
yogurt, milkshakes, fruit and vegetable juices, strained soup,
and cereal.
Soft
diet -- Soft foods are easy to eat and are less irritating
to a sore mouth, throat, esophagus or stomach.
This diet is used frequently after chemotherapy or
radiation to these regions. It includes foods that can be pureed or mashed.
For easy digestion, bland and low-fat foods are best.
Low
residue diet -- This regimen is frequently used after
radiation to the lower GI.
It is free of all milk products and high fiber foods
which can cause stomach upset.
Neutropenic
diet -- Individuals undergoing high-dose chemotherapy may
develop neutropenia, a condition in which the white blood cell
count falls to extremely low levels, increasing the risk for
infection. As
many different foods can carry bacteria, a neutropenic diet
eliminates those foods that carry potentially dangerous levels
of bacteria.
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____________________________________________________________
AUTHOR: Karen
Ansel, MS, RD
The Cancer Information
Network
Date Modified: 04/20/02
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