Navigating Nutrition During Cancer Treatment

Cancer treatment has a significant effect on the body. However, healthy eating habits reduce some of the possible symptoms and side effects of cancer treatment. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), “Nutrition goals during cancer therapy are based on a person’s cancer type, cancer stage, and other medical conditions.” LifeSpring Home Nutrition helps individuals and families manage the side effects of cancer treatment through diet and nutrition. Staff members empower cancer patients using nourishing home-delivered meals and positive social interactions.

The Role of Nutrition in Cancer Treatment

All cancer treatments have a direct effect on a person’s overall health. Proper nutrition may reduce or eliminate some potential side effects of cancer therapies. Individuals in treatment must make nutritional changes to ensure their body remains strong, energized, and able to heal.

According to the previously mentioned article by NCI, “For many people, the effects of cancer treatments make it hard to eat well.” A variety of treatments can limit one’s diet. According to NCI, “Cancer treatments that affect nutrition include:

• Chemotherapy.
• Hormone therapy.
• Radiation therapy.
• Surgery.
• Immunotherapy.
• Stem cell transplant.”

Every type of treatment has different potential side effects and uniquely impacts the body. Usually, a doctor, dietitian, or nutritionist helps people develop meal plans tailored to address any factors affected by cancer treatment. LifeSpring Home Nutrition offers nutritional counseling from a registered dietitian (RD) to ensure clients can access effective and appropriate meal plans.

Managing Symptoms and Supporting Recovery

The symptoms of cancer treatment often cause emotional and physical distress. Most people in treatment experience a decreased quality of life without access to support services, including at-home meal delivery.

Managing symptoms using community-based resources helps people feel more in control of their treatment and reduces stress. Finding positive ways to address the symptoms and side effects of cancer encourages people to focus on recovery instead of their day-to-day struggles. Successfully managing symptoms through lifestyle changes, including nutrition, gives people hope and the motivation to continue healing.

The Impact of Cancer Treatment on a Person’s Diet

Cancer care may have a significant effect on a person’s diet depending on the symptoms, side effects, type of cancer, and how far along the person is in treatment. According to the journal Nutrients, “Cancer treatments, especially chemotherapy, can cause sudden and dramatic changes in taste and smell, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, sores in the mouth and throat, trouble swallowing, dry mouth, and fatigue.” Individuals undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments may lose the desire to eat. Also, they may find their previously loved foods to be unappealing.

Friends and family members can support loved ones with cancer by ensuring that they have access to necessary resources, including home-delivered meals. Cancer treatment may make it difficult for previously independent individuals to prepare their meals or shop for food. Delivered meals give them access to premade, nutrient-rich foods.

Many individuals undergoing cancer treatment rely on LifeSpring Home Nutrition to provide them with frozen meals they can quickly reheat whenever they can eat. The convenience and freedom to choose how and when they enjoy their food can help people stay nourished during treatment.

LifeSpring Home Nutrition Offers Nutritional Guidance for People Undergoing Cancer Treatment

Multiple factors can impact cancer patients’ abilities to establish and maintain a healthy diet. For example, some people may have financial or transportation barriers, making it difficult to follow their doctors’ meal plans during treatment. Home-delivered meals help people overcome these barriers by making medically tailored meals (MTMs) and cancer support more accessible.

NCI states, “A healthy diet includes foods and liquids that have important nutrients (vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and water) the body needs.” The meals provided by LifeSpring Home Nutrition are enriched with these essential nutrients. We help people use home-delivered meals to ensure their diet remains healthy and consistent during cancer treatment.

A Compassionate Approach to Cancer Support

Cathleen Anthony, MBA, owner of LifeSpring Home Nutrition, supported her mother through her cancer treatment. According to Anthony:

“Dealing with my family and the kind of the support groups or other people that I spoke to, the biggest issue that families end up having is whether [their loved ones are] eating or not, and it becomes this almost obsessive thing. You’re not eating enough, and it becomes very stressful for the person with cancer.

My mom got to a place I was really sensitive to . . . She said, ‘I don’t want to eat,’ and I said, ‘Mom, I’m not gonna pressure you to. I’ll always have it here. I’ll always offer it, but if it starts to bother you, then don’t worry about it.'”

When friends would pressure her mother to eat, Cathleen would tell them it was her mother’s choice whether she ate or not. The dignity of choice is a powerful thing.

LifeSpring Home Nutrition understands the importance of offering people the choice of when, where, and what they eat during cancer treatment.

People undergoing cancer treatment may experience a wide range of changes to their appetite and may temporarily lose their desire to eat certain foods. In addition, those receiving cancer treatment may require dietary changes to ensure they receive enough nutrients to help their bodies heal. Every type of cancer and form of therapy has the potential to cause side effects, which impact diet and nutrition. Often, people in treatment work with their healthcare providers to create diet plans that meet their needs and recovery goals. LifeSpring Home Nutrition respects each person’s choices regarding food during cancer treatment. Everyone deserves to be treated with compassion and respect. To learn more about our services, call us today at (800) 798-5767.