What You Should Know About Cancer Treatment, Eating Well, and Eating Problems tips 2

Ways you can get ready to eat well

Fill the refrigerator, cupboard, and freezer with

healthy foods. Make sure to include items you

can eat even when you feel sick.

Stock up on foods that need little or no cooking,

such as frozen dinners and ready-to-eat cooked foods.

Cook some foods ahead of time and freeze in meal-

sized portions.

Ask friends or family to help you shop and cook during

treatment. Maybe a friend can set up a schedule of the tasks

that need to be done and the people who will do them.

Talk with your doctor, nurse, or dietitian about what to

expect. You can find lists of foods and drinks to help with many types of eating

problems on pages 49 to 64.

Not everyone has eating problems during cancer treatment

There is no way to know if you will have eating problems and, if so, how bad they

will be. You may have just a few problems or none at all. In part, this depends on

the type of cancer you have, where it is in your body, what kind of treatment you

have, how long treatment lasts, and the doses of treatment you receive.

During treatment, there are many helpful medicines and other ways to manage

eating problems. Once treatment ends, many eating problems go away. Your

doctor, nurse, or dietitian can tell you more about the types of eating problems

you might expect and ways to manage them. If you start to have eating problems,

tell your doctor or nurse right away