How Should Breast Cancer Patients Eat? During and After Treatment

During and after treatment for breast cancer, the most common cancer type in women, we receive many questions from our patients about how they should eat. Patients and relatives have many questions, particularly about nutrition, because of the expanding social media network and communication and guidance from many people, with or without experience.

In this article, our expert dietitian Mehmet Refik Sezgin, specializing in “nutrition in cancer,” answers the nutrition questions most frequently asked particularly by patients with early-stage breast cancer.

Is nutrition important during cancer treatment?

Yes; good nutrition during treatment will help you feel better during the treatment process, perform at a higher level and help us prepare you for the period after treatment. Also, if you have other existing nutrition-related health problems—for example, diabetes—one of the main factors necessary to keep them under control during this period is nutritional balance.

Does healthy eating mean eating a lot?

No; healthy eating means preparing foods consumed daily using correct storage and cooking methods and using adequate quantities according to the body’s needs, to preserve the person’s current health and help improve it.

Will adding certain special foods help me overcome cancer?

Although this is a much-questioned and researched topic, there is no food, vitamin or special supplement and so on that eliminates cancer when consumed. More studies are needed on foods or nutrients that may positively affect treatment processes. Of course, certain health conditions require foods containing particular nutrient groups to be emphasized or reduced. For example, someone with slow bowel activity should use fiber-rich foods, while someone with high blood sugar should avoid high-glycemic-index foods.

Should a breast cancer patient’s nutrition differ from others?

Yes; the area affected by cancer, its stage, the treatment and combinations given, and the person’s age and health performance are important factors influencing nutrition planning.

Different treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and so on) and combinations are used for different types of cancer; Medical Oncology Specialists decide these. Naturally, the possible nutritional side effects of planned treatments also vary accordingly.

What are the most common side effects affecting nutrition in breast cancer treatment?

The occurrence and tolerability of side effects may vary according to treatment, dose and individual. However, in plans selected particularly for breast cancer treatment, frequently observed side effects that may affect nutrition include:

• Changes in taste sensation and sensitivity to smells,
• Sensitivity in oral structures and sometimes mucosal sores,
• Appetite changes,
• Increased susceptibility to infection,
• Changes in bowel movements,
• Changes in body weight,

Are changes in body weight really important?

Yes; particularly during treatment, both unwanted weight gain and uncontrolled body weight loss require precautions. These may sometimes be related to the disease and treatments, and sometimes arise entirely from individual characteristics. Particularly in our society, it is thought that a person diagnosed with cancer must not lose weight. However, obesity and high body weight are risk-increasing factors in breast cancer processes.

What is my appropriate body weight range?

This is a concept that can vary by individual. Weight control may also differ between treatments. Desired weight changes during chemotherapy may differ from weight stability during radiotherapy. However, changes of 10% during treatment are generally changes that do not create major difficulties.

After your treatment ends, two goals should be set:

1. Healthy body weight range: You can determine this using Body Mass Index (BMI). Although it varies with age, a broad range can be used.
   When you divide your current body weight in kg by the square of your height in meters, a value between 18 and 25 is acceptable (in some situations after menopause it may rise to 27). Let us give an example:
   Weight: 80 kg;
   Height 155 cm = 1,55 m
   80 /(1,55)² = 33,29 kg/m² This value places you in the obesity range.
2. Appropriate waist circumference: This measurement may be chosen because it is more objective and perhaps easier. It measures your waist circumference—approximately around the navel—with a nonstretch tape about 3 cm above your pelvic bone while standing upright (someone else can measure because you may bend during measurement). For women, the target should be below 80 cm. Between 80 and 88 cm is considered the danger zone, while 88 cm and above is the obesity threshold.

Is sugar use forbidden during breast cancer treatment?

Actually, we all know sugar is not a healthy food. However, if there is no health problem requiring sugar restriction, it may not be necessary to stay entirely away from sugar. We do not recommend sugar use particularly for people with high body weight, a history of diabetes or blood sugar imbalance caused by medications used. In addition, in people experiencing intense nausea during treatment, sugary/sweet flavors tend to worsen nausea further.

Detailed information for your treatment periods and afterward will offer you one of the keys to a healthy life.