Maintaining a Healthy Diet During Chemotherapy

The coronavirus has completely flipped most people’s lives upside down and disrupted their normal routines. One of those routines being an annual checkup with the doctor. Countless people have missed their annual cancer checkups due to physician offices being closed or because this precautionary measure took a back seat to more pressing matters. Doctors are now urging their female patients to schedule these appointments for overall wellness, colonoscopies and mammograms.

Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer in women around the world, accounting for more than a quarter of all malignancies. According to the World Cancer Research Fund, nearly two million new instances of breast cancer were diagnosed worldwide in 2018. Chemotherapy may be the best option if you or a loved one is diagnosed with cancer.

While we dearly hope you will never need it, we at Breast Cancer Car Donations put together a guide on how to maintain a healthy diet if you or a loved one finds themselves in this situation. A healthy diet is especially important at a time like this when your body may not be at its full strength due to the cancer treatment. You need all the vitamins and nutrients you can get to help yourself feel strong and to fight off any infections or ailments that may find its way to you.

Chemotherapy can come with its very own side effects, many of which can interfere with your normal eating habits. The radiation treatment may alter your appetite and your sense of taste and smell. It may make you feel nauseous, making it difficult to keep food down. Another side effect is severe dry mouth and mouth sores, making mealtime especially difficult. Diarrhea and/or constipation is common and may lead to weight loss or gain. All these potential symptoms will alter your normal eating routine and that’s precisely why we put together the guide below.

Of course, if these tips and all else fails, never hesitate to consult your physician, a nurse or a dietician to review your situation and help you develop a plan to combat whatever dietary-related symptoms are affecting you. Continue reading our guide for more information on this and how to deal with your symptoms.