Diet regulation for chemotherapy patients

  Chemotherapy is sometimes a difficult treatment in the minds of most patients and patients’ families because of the established notion or impression that chemotherapy patients will lose hair, nausea and vomiting, lose weight and have poor appetite. The side effects of chemotherapy for urological tumors are relatively not particularly great, but in the process of clinical consultation, we still encountered some patients with decreased appetite.  Therefore, patients during chemotherapy can increase the taste of food in moderation so that the food can stimulate the sense of taste and enhance appetite, such as increasing sweet food and adding some jams and jaggery that can be bought in supermarkets every day during the eating process, which can be adjusted according to their own taste. In addition, patients with poor digestion can add yogurt, probiotic drinks, fruit and vegetable juices, vegetable soups, etc. If necessary, with some over-the-counter drugs that can be bought in pharmacies to strengthen the stomach and promote gastric power to assist treatment, may be more effective. Patients with heavy nausea can reduce the amount of food eaten at each meal and increase the number of meals per day to reduce the stimulation of the gastrointestinal tract each time, and at the same time can use a little ginger candy, peppermint candy, and if conditions allow, can boil some ginger candy water to relieve nausea and avoid the intake of greasy food. Oral drug treatment is recommended only as a last resort. Zhao Qiang, Department of Urology, Peking University Cancer Hospital 2. Chemotherapy may cause mouth ulcers, at this time patients usually cannot eat irritating food, such as hot sauce, pepper, etc. Instead, they need to drink more water, gargle with light salt water, increase vitamin C supplementation, and recommend the use of edible watermelon cream in the mouth for treatment if necessary, which also has the effect of cooling the mouth and reducing nausea.  3, pay attention to the intake of protein, according to their dietary characteristics, choose lean meat, eggs, skim milk powder, fish and other supplemental protein. Some patients may have vomiting and diarrhea, so they should pay attention to the balance of water and electrolytes, and drink some electrolyte drinks to supplement trace elements and electrolytes, and stimulate appetite.  4. Patients with bone metastasis or prostate cancer treated with endocrine therapy, especially those of advanced age and osteoporosis, need to pay attention to vitamin D and calcium supplements, such as Calcium, etc., while increasing water intake, and with appropriate amount of activities and sunlight exposure.