As a follow up to the Cancer.Net Feature: Managing Cancer Side Effects Through Nutrition, this feature will provide a list of nutrition and cooking resources to turn to when side effects of cancer treatments, such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy, interfere with a patient's ability to eat well. For people living with cancer, the right diet can improve overall health and well-being and help them to progress through treatment with less fatigue and potentially fewer infections. Clinical studies suggest that those patients who eat well and maintain their weight often tolerate treatment side effects better.

To maintain an adequate nutritional state requires eating enough foods that contain important nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, and fat. In general, you should eat a variety of different foods to get all the nutrients you need. Eating enough healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, is important.

And unlike people who focus on their diet strictly for weight loss, people with cancer often need to be sure their diet is providing enough calories to support their bodies.

Making diet decisions can be a difficult task, though. Your nutrition needs may change, for example, as you go through a new treatment. And they may change again after you’ve finished a treatment.

But how do you follow a well-balanced, healthy diet—and how do you maintain an adequate nutritional state—when your first priority is managing the often-appetite-suppressing side effects of cancer? First and foremost, people with cancer are encouraged to talk with their doctors about their diets. In addition, there are many resources that people with cancer can turn to for help.

Where to find resources

There are many nutrition resources for people living with cancer, including cancer-oriented cookbooks, cooking classes, and seminars. There are many ways to find these resources:

• Ask your health-care team for recommendations
• Talk with a social worker at your hospital or treatment center
• Review the event listings in your local newspaper
• Ask people at a cancer support group
• Check for postings at your community center
• Ask a librarian or bookseller
• Browse your local bookstore
• Search on the Internet

Cookbooks

There are many cookbooks and books about nutrition that are designed for people with cancer. They offer recipes and advice for food that tastes good and is enjoyable, just like any cookbook. But the underlying focus is on improving health and well-being during and after cancer treatment.

For example, a cookbook for people with cancer might discuss how the side effects from cancer treatment may affect your appetite for certain foods or how to make healthy foods more appealing if you’ve lost your appetite.

Cookbooks are available at most libraries, bookstores, and online at amazon.com and other retail websites.

To find recipes and cookbooks, you can also use an Internet search engine such as Google, Google Book Search (http://books.google.com), Yahoo, or AOL; enter a phrase such as "cooking resources for people with cancer," "cancer cookbook," or more specific wording to focus on a specific nutrition topic.

Cooking classes

There are cooking classes designed specifically for people with cancer and cancer survivors. Whether you are cooking for yourself or for someone else, a cooking class will generally teach you how to choose the right foods, how to prepare them in a healthy way, and how to plan menus. In addition to a discussion or lecture, the cooking instructor will often demonstrate how to make a certain dish or a whole meal from start to finish.

Some hospitals hold cooking classes for the local community; space is usually limited in this type of class. And some local or state departments of health sponsor seminars and classes to promote healthy lifestyles.

To find cooking or nutrition classes near you, check the events listings in your newspaper's "health" or "local" section, or ask your medical team or dietitian for a recommendation.

Dietitians

You may also consider asking your medical team for a referral to a registered dietitian (RD), who will charge either an hourly or set fee. (The American Dietetic Association also offers referrals; go to www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/SID-5303FFEA-1B7ADF62/ada/hs.xsl/home_4874_ENU_HTML.htm.) Dietitians can help you make smart decisions about a diet that's right for you, during and after treatment. They are experts in food and nutrition and often work in medical settings to treat and prevent disease. They may be able to evaluate your dietary supplements and help you design an appropriate exercise routine as well.

During an appointment with a dietitian, he or she will ask you to log in a notebook what you are eating throughout the day; the detailed notes will make it easier for the dietitian to suggest meals and/or snacks that he or she knows you will like. It is important to bring any questions you may have to the appointment; jot them down ahead of time. In addition, it is important to let the dietitian know if and what medications, vitamins, and supplements you are currently taking.

Additional resources

National Cancer Institute (NCI): Eating Hints for Cancer Patients: Before, During, and After Treatment

University of Virginia's Cancer Center: Nutrition & Cancer: Our Nutritionists Recommended Reading List

"Eat 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day for better health"

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC): Nutrition Counseling

OncoLink: Nutrition During Cancer Treatment: Benefits of Good Nutrition During Cancer Treatment

Arizona Cancer Center: Nutrition Ways

American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR)
(Offers a free brochure series on Cooking for Lower Cancer Risk and a nutrition hotline staffed with RDs who specialize in diet and cancer.)

Last Updated: March 03, 2006