Eating right

It's even more important than usual

Eating well is really important when you're on treatment. It can help you stay stronger, recover faster, fight infections and cope better with the effects. It can give you energy and stop you feeling so tired.

Your doctor, nurse and dietician whill check your height and weight regularly - ask the how you can make sure you're getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.  

Balancing different kinds of food

You need to eat a range of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

Proteins are essential for growth, muscle strength and healing. They are found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, soya, pulses and nuts.
Fats are a good source of energy and contain some fat soluble vitamins. They include oil, butter, margarine, ghee and cream.
Carbohydrates provide fibre and energy. They include fruit, vegetables and grains, including bread, flour. pasta, rice and breakfast cereals.
Fruit and vegetables are a good source of vitamins and minerals and also contain fibre.

Extra vitamins and minerals

Most doctors will tell you that if you’re eating a healthy, balanced diet you don’t need extra vitamins. However, if you’re having difficulty eating certain foods, you may need to take a supplement - ask your doctor or dietician for advice. Some vitamins and minerals can be dangerous if you get too much of them, or may react badly with your treatment.

Having trouble eating?

If you don’t feel hungry, try eating small meals throughout the day, and tempt yourself with foods that smell really good, like fresh bread, fried onions or roast chicken. Ask your doctor, nurse or dietician whether they can recommend any medicine to help you.

If you’re losing too much weight, add extra protein and energy to your food, by choosing full-fat foods and adding high-calorie extras like butter, cream, oil or sugar.

If eating makes you feel sick, ask your doctor or nurse for some anti-sickness medicine. Don’t eat just before or after your treatment, try to eat small amounts throughout the day, and avoid greasy food. It’s best to eat light, bland meals. Ginger or mint may also help.

If your mouth and throat are too sore to eat, use a blender to puree your food or create nutritional drinks or smoothies. For main meals, try soft foods like omelettes, shepherd’s pie, macaroni cheese or soup – but let them cool down before you eat them.

If your mouth is dry, ask your doctor or nurse for medicine or pastilles and a mouthwash to help prevent thrush. Sip cool drinks or suck ice cubes regularly, and eat soft, moist foods with plenty of sauce, gravy, cream, juice, syrup or custard.

If your treatment or cancer has changed your sense of taste so that foods taste unpleasant, try stronger flavours, like spicy sausages, curries, crisps or marmite. Add more flavour to your foods with salt and pepper, herbs, spices, marinades, sauces and pickles.

If you’re getting diarrhoea, it is important you drink plenty of fluids to avoid becoming dehydrated. However, you may find it helps to cut down on dairy products, including milk. Eat little and often, and avoid high-fibre foods, alcohol, coffee and spicy food.

If you’re constipated, drink plenty of fluid and eat fresh fruit and vegetables and other high-fibre foods, like beans, lentils, wholegrain breakfast cereals, wholegrain bread and pasta, or dried fruit. Check with the medical team first though whether your constipation is caused by your treatment - if so, high-fibre foods like these might not be the answer.

Nutritional supplement drinks

If you find it easiest to take most of your food in liquid form, you can buy nutritional supplement drinks from most supermarkets and chemists. You can also get some on prescription. Ask your dietician or doctor for further advice

Special diets

You may read or hear about special diets that can ‘cure’ cancer – but there’s no clinical evidence for them. Talk to your doctor or dietician if you’re anxious about your current diet.