Food for Cancer Patients
What's Good to Eat During Chemotherapy and Radiation?
You can still eat well during treatment and never lose your love for food.
Food can provide much comfort, so it’s especially insulting to cancer patients that during treatment, a time in their life when they need more nurturing than ever, eating becomes less of a treat and more of a chore.
But there are ways to keep food as your friend during chemotherapy and radiation.
Rule number one: don’t eat anything you really love on the days you’re having chemo. Whether it’s milk chocolate or a turkey sandwich, you might not ever want to eat it again. The toxic effects of chemo make for some powerful associations. No one wants to be reminded of days hooked up to an IV while having harsh chemicals pumped through her blood.
You might not feel like eating much at all right after chemo, but anti-nausea drugs have become much more effective in recent years. Get creative about what you consume so that you maximize your nutritional intake. A few examples:
- If you can only stomach rice, make it with chicken or vegetable stock instead of plain water.
- Opt for high-protein combinations like hummus and pita bread or cheese and crackers.
- Snack on edamame beans, which are high in protein as well as fibre, thiamin, iron, and folate.
- Get out your blender and make smoothies. Mix together organic blueberries with apple, grape, cranberry, or guava juice—anything but orange juice. Citrus fruits can contribute to or exacerbate mouth sores, and you’ll want to do everything you can to avoid those. Throw in a banana and some plain yogurt.
Certain cancer drugs can leave a metallic taste in your mouth. Suck on popsicles. Store-bought popsicles are loaded with sugar, so get those popsicle molds usually reserved for kids’ treats—besides, sucking on an Oscar the Grouch stick might be just what you need. Make your own by freezing those healthy smoothies.
Add broccoli and cauliflower to macaroni and cheese. The vegetables can be cooked in the same water used to make the pasta.
Chemotherapy often leads to mouth sores, which can make eating unpleasant or downright impossible. Try soft foods like perogies, egg salad, fresh crustless bread, avocado, banana, and pancakes. In other words, imagine you are feeding a baby. Anything that would suit an infant might be worth whipping together: pureed sweet potato mixed with applesauce, for instance, or pureed squash mixed with mashed pear.
Meal replacement drinks (like Ensure or Boost Plus) are another great way to get necessary calories and nutrients. If you don’t like the way they taste, add them to a home-made smoothie.
Eat whatever you want. If a banana-cream pie is what you crave, a banana-cream pie is what you should have. You need all the energy you can muster to get through this ordeal, and remember that food is fuel.
If you’re not able to eat for a long period of time, you might need to take a multivitamin or other supplements. Check with your doctor or naturopath.
For detailed meal ideas, visit the B.C. Cancer Agency’s Web site, which has a helpful section on nutritional support.
If you can’t indulge in all the flavours around you, hold on tight to the ritual of meal times. Drink in the company of your family and friends and eat up laughter and love.
