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Treating malnutrition should be a priority for cancer patients

Treating malnutrition should be a priority for cancer patients

For many cancer patients, malnutrition is the host they didn’t expect or want. It can appear soon after you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, if nausea or vomiting prevents you from eating well, or if the disease disrupts the way food is digested or metabolized. Or it could creep up during treatment. It can affect you even if you seem to be eating a lot of calories and protein, but because of the cancer you have, you can’t keep enough fat stores and muscle mass. Since patients who are malnourished may become too sick to continue treatment or may experience slower recovery rates, getting the nutrients you need should be a priority. There are many tools available to help.

If you suffered from malnutrition after being diagnosed with cancer, you are not alone. Most cancer patients suffer from nutritional deficiencies. Up to 90 percent of patients with gastrointestinal cancer and 60 percent of patients with lung cancer have some degree of malnutrition. In fact, protein and calorie malnutrition, which results from the body’s inability to absorb sufficient amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, is the most common secondary diagnosis for patients with cancer. Malnutrition can be caused by the disease itself, such as when a tumor in the digestive tract obstructs digestion, making it difficult to absorb nutrients. Or it could be caused by treatments like surgery, which can deplete the body of energy and nutrients, or chemotherapy, which can make you feel sick or reduce your appetite.

Serious consequences

Whatever the cause, malnutrition can have serious consequences, including long hospital stays, an increased risk of cancer recurrence, and sometimes even death. “Patients with some degree of malnutrition seem to be less tolerant of treatment than others,” says Matt Reinhart, MD, team leader for clinical oncology dieticians at our hospital in Tulsa. “It is very important to know that if you allow malnutrition to go unchecked, you can delay or stop treatment indefinitely, and you can end up taking someone’s life long before cancer.”

This may sound harsh, but it makes sense to think about it. If you have trouble catching food due to nausea or vomiting, for example, you may not be considered strong enough to undergo surgery to remove the tumor, or you may need to stop chemotherapy until you recover. You may also be too weak to participate in physical or occupational therapies designed to help you recover from surgery, delaying the time it takes to recover. Some patients, especially those with gastrointestinal cancer, have a “debilitating condition” called cachexia, which prevents the body from storing muscle and fat and causes 20 to 40 percent of cancer patients to die, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Determine the causes

To treat malnutrition, it is important to identify its causes so that members of your care team are better prepared to help you treat it at its source. They can also help you prevent malnutrition before it starts. Rinehart offers these tips for treating the most common sources of malnutrition:

  • If you suffer from loss of appetite:
    • Drink more water.
    • Eat small, frequent meals to help increase metabolism and increase appetite.
    • Add ginger to your diet. It can act as an appetite stimulant because it supports healthy digestion, soothes the stomach lining, reduces nausea if taken regularly, and reduces inflammation.
    • Talk to your doctor about whether an appetite stimulant is appropriate.
    • Work with your care team to address other side effects that may affect your appetite.
    • Consider oral supplements that are high in calories or protein.
  • If you suffer from constipation:
    • Drink more water.
    • Eat more foods rich in fiber.
    • Take probiotic supplements or take them through yogurt.
    • Consume core fruits such as apricots, peaches, cherries, plums, peaches, and nectarines, which can have a natural laxative effect.
    • Drink prune or black cherry juice after heating it on the stove or in the microwave.
    • Stay active and talk to your doctor about medically appropriate exercise.
    • Talk to your doctor about recommendations for stool softeners or laxatives as needed.
  • If you experience nausea or vomiting:
    • Drink more water.
    • Eat small, frequent meals that are rich in protein.
    • Add ginger and mint to your diet.
    • Avoid spicy, greasy, heavy, or spicy foods.
    • Focus more on light foods.
    • Take anti-nausea medications as prescribed.

Doctor’s advice is key

Before changing your diet or trying to manage malnutrition on your own, talk with your doctor to make sure you’re taking the rigcancer,nutrition for prostate cancer treatment,for patient education,cancer care,registered dietician nutrition for prostate cancer treatment,cancer (disease or medical condition),nutrition and cancer prevention,hollings cancer center,prostate cancer treatment nutrition,med surg cancer,national cancer institute,the university of kansas cancer center,rectal cancer nutrition,abramson cancer center,what to eat during prostate cancer treatmentht steps for your needs and see if other treatments can help. If you have head and neck cancer, for example, poor nutrition can cause you to lose muscle mass throughout your body, including the throat. Therefore, your doctor may recommend working with a speech therapist to help you strengthen those muscles and improve your ability to swallow.

The risks and complications that malnutrition can cause do not end once treatment ends. Many survivors work with a registered dietitian to help them get the nutrients they need to stay healthy. Head and neck cancer patients, for example, may continue to experience dry mouth, taste changes, and swallowing difficulties for months or even years after treatment. “These cancer survivors are more likely to go unnoticed after treatment, but their nutritional side effects can last a long time and we need to get as far ahead of them as possible,” says Reinhart.

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