1. You'll Lose Less Weight
While many healthy people long to lose weight, losing weight while battling cancer puts you at a disadvantage. Unintentional weight loss, whether it be due to a loss of appetite, changes in taste, or difficulty tolerating the foods you are able to eat, will make it that much harder to get you through your treatments, as well as through your recovery phase. While you still may drop quite a few pounds even with proper nutrition intervention, you'll likely lose a lot less weight than you would if you weren't under nutritional care.
2. You Feel Better When You Eat
Simply put, you'll be in better spirits, have more energy and live an overall better quality of life if you eat what you can tolerate during your treatment period. Even if you develop taste changes from the medications you are given, you may discover there are certain foods that continue to give you pleasure. Try eating as much as you can during the morning hours, since many people undergoing cancer treatments tend to lose their appetite and energy as the day progresses. If you happen to be able to eat substantially both in the morning as well as later on in the day, you'll take in more calories and be better off in the long run.
3. Food Gives You Strength to Fight Infections
Eating as regularly as possible won't just serve to improve your mood; it will also assist your body in fighting off any infections due to a now compromised immune system. While chemotherapy and radiation are at war with your cancer cells, an unfortunate side effect is that your healthy cells are also being attacked. When your immune system is suppressed in this way, you're at risk for catching any number of infections. Eating enough calories overall, as well as foods rich in protein will best help your healthy cells to thrive under such harsh conditions.
4. Your Diet is Not a Cure for Your Cancer
Malnutrition is a common consequence of cancer treatment. If you become malnourished, you will have a much harder time rallying in between treatment sessions and will likely take longer getting back to your normal, everyday routine. The diet prescription you are given by your registered dietitian or doctor, which may include supplements in addition to foods, is actually not meant to treat your cancer; rather to prevent malnutrition and to limit the development of secondary symptoms that develop during the course of treatment. While a therapeutic diet is not a cancer cure, without proper attention to dietary needs, it's easy to fall into a downward spiral.
5. Tricks of the Trade Can Help Relieve Some Treatment Symptoms
Common consequences of cancer treatment such as diarrhea, constipation and even stomach upset can all be relived via nutritional strategies. Dietary intervention can help relieve some of the discomfort you may feel during this difficult time in your life.
