Nutrition is a process in which food is taken in and is used by the body for growth. It also helps in keeping the body healthy, and it also replaces the bad tissue with the good ones. Good nutrition is important for good health. Eating the right kind of food before, during, and after the cancer treatment also helps the patient to feel better and helps to stay stronger. A healthy diet includes a healthy intake of eating and drinking enough of the foods and liquids that also have some important nutrients for (vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates, fat, and water) the body needs.
Nutrition therapy is used to help cancer patients by:-
• Keeping the appropriate body weight,
• Maintain the strength,
• Keeping the body tissue healthy,
• and decreasing the side effects, both during and after treatment of cancer.
Sometimes cancer and cancer treatment may also cause malnutrition. Cancer and cancer treatments may affect the taste, smell, appetite, and the ability to eat enough food or absorb the nutrients from the food. This can cause malnutrition, which is a condition caused by a lack of key nutrients.
Malnutrition leads to
1. Weakness,
2. Tiredness,
3. And the patient’s body is unable to fight infection or is unable to end cancer treatment. Malnutrition gets worse with the growth of cancer cells.
Eating the right amount of protein and calories is important for healing and fighting the infection.
Anorexia and cachexia: Common cause of malnutrition in cancer patients
Anorexia is the loss of appetite or desire to eat. It is a common symptom in patients suffering from cancer. Anorexia may occur early in this disease or maybe later if cancer grows or spreads. Some patients already have anorexia when they are diagnosed with cancer. Most patients who have advanced cancer will have the chance of having anorexia.
Anorexia is the most common cause of malnutrition in cancer patients.
Cachexia is a condition marked by
1. weakness,
2. weight loss,
3. and fat and muscle loss.
It is common with the patients suffering from tumors that their eating habits and digestion of food are adversely affected. It can occur so patients with cancer who are eating well but are not able to store fat and muscle because of unlimited tumor growth. Some tumors change the way the body uses certain nutrients. The body’s use of protein, carbohydrates, and fat may be affected, especially by tumors of the stomach, intestines, or head and neck. A patient may seem to be eating enough, but the body may not be able to absorb all the nutrients from the food.
Cancer patients may have anorexia and cachexia at the same time too!