Why you need a nutritionist during cancer treatment
Cancer patients may be benefited from nutrition therapy as it can help in weight management, retain strength, maintain energy levels, sustain nutrient stores in your body and endure the side effects of the treatment.
Nutrition is a critical component of cancer treatment that is frequently neglected. For cancer patients, a good diet is particularly crucial. Cancer and its therapies may affect your body's ability to accept and utilize nutrients from some foods.
Cancer patients may be benefited from nutrition therapy as it can help in weight management, maintain healthy body tissue, retain strength, maintain energy levels, sustain nutrient stores in your body and endure the side effects of the treatment.
Dietitians play an important role in the management of cancer patients. An Oncology nutritionist serves as a link between the healthcare team and the patient, assisting in the integration of nutrition goals for better clinical outcomes. An Oncology nutritionist’s job is to help patients solve difficulties, which can range from giving tips on how to eat when they are queasy or have a decreased diet to assisting with proper food selections while they are on feeding tubes.
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An Oncology nutritionist also help to guide and educate the patients, their family members and caretakers on dietary intake, meal timings and quantities, classification of good and bad foods relative to medical condition, grocery shopping, nutritional supplements and integrating medication with daily diet routine.
Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy, Radiation, Hormone therapy and surgery, are just a few of the cancer treatments that are now available. All these treatments have the potential to induce side effects and eating difficulties, which can be alleviated with proper food therapy.
The nutritionist serves as a patient's advisor. Families frequently don't realize why their loved one refuses to eat, and as a result, nutrition becomes a struggle. The designated nutritionist reassures the patient that she/he is aware of their difficulties and offer options for the most convenient approach to ingest more calories depending on their symptoms or specific issues.
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The nutritionist assists patients by ensuring that they fulfill their hydration, protein, and calorie requirements, which are needed to aid them, complete their treatment plan. The nutritionist's goal is to reduce side effects, prevent treatment interruptions, and improve the patient's overall quality of life through tailored nutrition therapy.
(Ryan Fernando is Founder QUA Nutrition, Celebrity & Sports Nutritionist; views expressed in this column are author's own)
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