You may be inspired to educate yourself about a healthy diet after surviving a bout with melanoma. While no diet can guarantee freedom from a recurrence of melanoma, a balanced diet that maintains your weight, combats treatment toxicity and fights nutritional depletion is recommended by the Northern California Melanoma Center.
Melanoma
Melanoma is a rare and dangerous form of skin cancer. Melanocytes are cells that carry skin and hair pigmentation. When a tumor develops in a melanocyte, it is called a melanoma. Since pigmentation is concentrated in moles, changes in moles could be a sign of melanoma. While sun exposure can cause or exacerbate skin cancers, you may also have inherited a predisposition to melanoma, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute.
Balance in Your Diet
The American Cancer Society recommends that survivors of all types of cancer, including melanoma, maintain a proper balance between carbohydrate, protein and fat sources. Aim to get 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories from fats. Saturated fats should comprise less than 10 percent of your fat allowance. In addition, melanoma and other cancer survivors should focus on lean protein sources, such as poultry, legumes, low-fat dairy products and fish; these should make up 10 to 35 percent of caloric intake. The ACS recommends choosing carbohydrates rich in fiber, nutrients and phytochemicals to make up 45 to 65 percent of your daily diet.
Cruciferous Vegetables
Broccoli, watercress, turnips, rutabaga, cauliflower, kale and Brussels sprouts are members of the cruciferous vegetable family. All contain a phytochemical called sulforaphane that may cause apoptosis, or programmed death, in melanoma cells, according to a study in a 2011 issue of “Drug and Chemical Toxicology.” Melanoma cells often do not die according to the normal cycle of cell life and death. Causing apoptosis by drugs or plant chemicals is a method of killing melanoma cells and a major thrust of melanoma research.
Nutritional Supplements
Melanoma survivors and other cancer survivors should purchase multivitamins that satisfy 100 percent of the required daily amounts of vitamins and minerals. Avoid multivitamins that have herbal ingredients, since herbs can sometimes interact adversely with pharmaceuticals, according to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Rather than ingesting additional nutritional supplements, satisfy your nutritional requirements with a diet based primarily on plant foods.
References
- “American Cancer Society; Nutrition and Physical Activity During and After Cancer Treatment; Colleen Doyle et al.; December 2006
- M.D. Anderson Cancer Center: Survivorship: Nutrition for Cancer Survivors
- Northern California Melanoma Center: Coping with Melanoma
- National Human Genome Research Institute: Learning About Skin Cancer
- “Drug and Chemical Toxicology”; Induction of Apoptosis by Sulforaphane in Highly Metastatic B16f-10 Melanoma Cells; T.P. Hamsa, et al.; July 2011
