Cancer patients have special circumstances under which getting adequate nutrition may become problematic. Stanford Medicine Cancer Center says that treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation can cause nausea, vomiting, taste alterations, diarrhea and constipation. These experiences may create a fear of eating food. Mental health issues related to diagnosis and prognosis may also increase appetite loss, depression and general anxiety relating to a lack of adequate nutrition.
Malnutrition
Malnutrition, according to the National Cancer Institute, is a condition where an individual is not getting enough calories or nutrients needed for the maintenance of good health. In cancer patients, considerations for diet and coexisting factors such as surgical procedures, treatment side effects and general mental health all come into play. Surgical procedures may hinder the ability to take in enough nutrients. Chewing, swallowing and pain may create problems. For example, a cancer patient may be getting adequate nutrition, but the absorption of the nutrients from food may be disrupted by the location of tumors or a malfunction in the digestive tract.
Anorexia
Anorexia is defined as the abnormal loss of appetite for food -- a common occurrence with many diseases. The website HemOnc Today suggests that anorexia-cachexia syndrome affects as many as 80 percent of all advanced-stage cancer patients. This condition, while often instigated by cancer and its treatments, may result in 5 percent or more of the patient's weight loss before diagnosis.
Cachexia
Cachexia, which is the process of muscle wasting in cancer patients, results from prolonged metabolic changes. Generally, the cancer patient begins with physical and psychological distress from diagnosis and treatments and moves into anorexic and cachexic states of malnutrition. Cachexia occurs in conjunction with symptoms of nausea, early satiety, fatigue and changes in body image related to extreme muscle and fat loss. Cachexia is a marker for considerable decline in the patient's health.
Tube Feedings
In circumstances where the patient must undergo surgical procedures, chemotherapy or radiation, the ability to take in food by mouth can be a struggle. Trying to chew or swallow may become extremely difficult to impossible, painful or dangerous for the patient. Rather than risk malnutrition from anorexia, the oncology team will want to exhaust every effort to maintain adequate nutrition and quality of life. The oncologist will usually insert a feeding tube through the nose into the stomach or through the side of the body directly into the stomach via another surgical procedure. Liquid nutritional supplements and hydration products are then administered by professional or familial caregivers.
References
- Stanford Medicine Cancer Center: Nutritional Management of Treatment Side Effects
- National Cancer Institute: Dictionary of Cancer Terms: Malnutrition
- HemOnc Today, Clinical News in Oncology and Hematology: Primary Anorexia-Cachexia Syndrome in Cancer Patients
- California State University-Sacramento: Care of the Terminally Ill: Definitions and Application to Tubal Hydration and Feeding
