Cancer and its treatment can change your appetite, as well as how you chew, taste and swallow your food. It may also temporarily change how your body processes nutrients. Without the right nutrients, you may become weak and prone to infections. Your body may also have a harder time healing from surgery or you may not be able to finish other treatments.
Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute’s Clinical Nutrition team is here for you when you’re dealing with cancer-related eating challenges. As part of your overall team, we work with your physicians and other healthcare providers to minimize the side effects of your cancer and its treatments and to achieve the best outcomes.
We can help you get the nutrients you need to maintain your body weight and strength, fight infection, and feel stronger and better before, during and after cancer treatment.
How We Help
No matter what your type of cancer, treatment, age or other health conditions, our registered dietitians/nutritionists are available to provide expert food and nutrition guidance. They carefully assess your nutritional status. Then they offer counseling and personalized interventions to make it easier for you to eat and get needed nutrients.
Our goals are to:
- Address nutrition-related symptoms
- Help you take control of other health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease
- Manage your weight appropriately
- Quickly identify and/or prevent malnutrition
We also offer nutrition classes, healthy cooking demonstrations and celebrity chef events in our gourmet teaching kitchen. These services are available for you and your caregivers.
Foods to eat, foods to avoid
Everyone’s food and nutritional needs are different when they have cancer. For example, if you’re dealing with taste changes, it may be best to eat poultry, fish, eggs and cheese instead of red meat. Or, if chemotherapy causes nausea, it might be best to eat several smaller meals throughout the day rather than three large meals, or to avoid foods with strong smells.
Soft, easy to eat foods, like milkshakes, eggs or oatmeal may be best if you have a sore throat or trouble swallowing. You’ll want to avoid spicy, crunchy or acidic foods.
Our experts tailor their advice to you and your specific needs.
