Colon cancer is the result of cells within the colon growing abnormally quickly and developing the ability to spread to other parts of your body. One of the ways in which colon cancer is treated is via chemotherapy, which uses chemicals to kill the rapidly dividing cells in the colon. While undergoing chemotherapy, you may need to follow a special diet to help your body stay healthy while receiving this treatment.
Increased Energy Needs
If you have colon cancer and are being treated with chemotherapy, you may have increased caloric needs. Part of this is because your immune system will require more energy as it tries to fight off the cancer. In addition, chemotherapy can tax your body's reserves, and you will need more calories in order to heal and replenish the tissues, such as your bone marrow and red blood cells, that are damaged as a result of chemotherapy.
Gastrointestinal Side Effects of Chemotherapy
It can be difficult to have much of an appetite while receiving chemotherapy. This is because chemotherapy destroys rapidly dividing cells within the body, which includes the cells which line the mouth and digestive tract, the National Cancer Institute explains. This can result in nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as inflammation of the mouth and changes in the taste of foods. All of these side effects can make it difficult for patients receiving chemotherapy to get enough nutrition during the course of their treatment.
Nutrition Therapy
In order to combat the increased nutritional needs and decreased eating capacity of colon cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, nutrition therapy may be needed. In some cases patients will receive enteral nutrition, which involves using a feeding tube that is inserted into the stomach or small intestine to supply nutrients for the body. You may also need to consume nutrient-dense shakes or bars in order to get enough calories.
Self-Care
There are other steps that patients can take to try to ameliorate some of the side effects of chemotherapy, the Oncology Channel notes. Drinking plenty of liquids between meals can help prevent dehydration. Ginger and peppermint tea can be used to help settle the stomach and sooth nausea. If you are experiencing severe diarrhea or vomiting, miso soup and sea-salted vegetable broths will help you replace some of the electrolytes which you lose as a result of vomiting or diarrhea.
Considerations
If you normally take vitamin supplements or herbal preparations, you may need to stop using these products when receiving chemotherapy. Supplements which contain chemicals with antioxidant properties, such as beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, zinc and grape seed extract, as well as vitamins A, C and E can counteract the effects of chemotherapy. Antioxidants help protect the body from dangerous molecules known as reactive oxygen species. On the other hand, many chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells by generating reactive oxygen species, so these antioxidants may make your cancer treatment less effective, CancerSupportiveCare.com reports.
