Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy also damages healthy cells that line your intestines and mouth and regulate hair growth. This causes side effects such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, low blood cell count, mouth sores, hair loss and pain.
Side effects vary from person to person and depends on the amount of chemotherapy administered. Side effects of chemotherapy can make eating a regular diet difficult, so a special chemotherapy diet may be prescribed according to a person's specific needs and symptoms. This diet may exclude certain foods until the patient has completed chemotherapy.
Diet
A diet for chemotherapy patients is one known as a neutropenic diet. According to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the purpose of a neutropenic diet is to protect the body from bacteria as it recovers from the effects of chemotherapy and recovers its immunity. Persons who have had an organ transplant or are undergoing treatment for HIV or AIDS may also be put on this type of diet.
Restrictions
A neutropenic diet excludes fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurt and yogurt products with live and active cultures, raw eggs, cold cuts, raw or rare-cooked meat, fish or poultry, raw nuts or oats, soft ice cream or yogurt made from a machine, unbaked cookie dough, unrefrigerated cream-filled pastries, and fresh salad dressing containing fresh herbs, raw eggs or aged cheese. Soft cheeses, cheeses with molds (i.e., blue cheese), Mexican-style cheeses and cheeses containing uncooked vegetables are also excluded from a neutropenic diet.
Conditional Restrictions
Chemo patients experiencing side effects such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and sore mouth are advised to avoid spicy and hot foods, foods with a strong smell like, coffee, onions, garlic and fish, greasy and fatty foods, large meals, rich desserts or sugary foods, dried fruit, seeds and nuts. Very hot, cold or caffeinated beverages should also be avoided.
Supplementation
A person undergoing chemotherapy should not take any dietary or herbal supplements or modify his diet without first discussing it with his doctor. A patient on a chemotherapy or neutropenic diet must follow the diet until his doctor gives him the okay to begin a regular diet.
Caution
A chemotherapy patient is advised to practice safe sanitary measures when he handles food and cutting utensils or cutting boards in order to reduce his risk contracting food-borne illnesses, according to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Hot foods should be kept hot and cold foods should be kept cold. He should use tap water should be used, however, boiled water is okay if it is labeled as filtered through an absolute one micron or smaller filter, reverse osmosis or distillation. Well water may be used after boiling for at least one minute.
