Nutrition and Mesothelioma

Good nutrition is important for patients undergoing treatment for mesothelioma. A healthy diet of the right kinds of foods and liquids before, during and after cancer treatment can make you feel better and help you maintain your strength.

Good nutrition is important whether you are undergoing surgery, chemotherapy, an alternative therapy or palliative treatment to improve the quality of your life during advanced mesothelioma.

Good Nutrition for Mesothelioma Patients

As a mesothelioma patient, you’ll want to focus on eating properly and getting good nutrients to keep up your strength and energy. People with mesothelioma may need to follow a diet that varies from what you would normally consider healthy, by adding extra protein for example. You may need to add extra milk, cheese and eggs to your diet to get more protein. You’ll want to get enough calories and protein and try to maintain a healthy weight and keep up your energy. You may need to eat more low-fiber foods rather than high-fiber foods. Some cancer treatments are more effective when the body is well nourished.

Focusing on eating properly is all the more important during mesothelioma treatment because many patients undergoing radiation and chemotherapy may experience a loss of appetite or changes in sense of taste that can affect your desire to eat. Your sense of taste may change from day to day. Eating too little protein and becoming malnourished is a common problem with patients undergoing mesothelioma treatment. That can leave you without enough energy to get through cancer treatments.

Common eating problems during cancer treatment identified by the National Cancer Institute include:

• Appetite loss
• Dry mouth
• Nausea
• Sore mouth
• Sore throat or difficulty swallowing
• Vomiting
• Weight loss
• Diarrhea
• Constipation

It is important that your doctors identify and address mesothelioma treatment side effects such as loss of appetite, nausea or diarrhea that may affect your nutrition intake. There are many helpful medicines to help control nausea. Fortunately, not all mesothelioma patients have eating problems during treatment or suffer side effects.

Talk to your doctor about foods that you should eat before and during cancer treatment. Ask your doctor to refer you to a dietitian who is the best person to discuss your nutrition needs. Focusing on nutrition is part of focusing on your health and maintaining your energy as you undergo cancer treatment.