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Nutrition during and after breast cancer treatment

Posted by blessedsingh @blessedsingh, Feb 4, 2019

My mother is undergoing breast cancer treatment. I would like to if there is any specific nutrition program can be followed for breast cancer like high fat, low carb etc.

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marykaym63 | @marykaym63 | Feb 4, 2019

As a dietitian and breast cancer survivor, I would encourage her to eat a broad variety of foods that taste good to her. Finding foods that taste good can be a challenge, but she she should keep looking and trying foods that she might not normally eat. For instance watermelon tasted particularly good to me. When I couldn't find things that tasted good, I drank Carnation Instant breakfast for the overall nutritional value that it provided. I tended to eat pretty plain foods because highly spiced foods didn't agree. Once I finished chemo and radiation, it was several moths before most things were tasting good. There are some salad dressings that I still can't tolerate. For me, small frequent meals worked best. I also discovered my taste changed overtime, for example, something that tasted good one time did not taste good another time. The important thing is to keep eating and not worry about high fat, low carb, etc unless she has intolerances that need to be accommodated. There's plenty of time afterward to follow specific plans if she chooses to once she is finished with treatments.

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blessedsingh | @blessedsingh | Feb 4, 2019
In reply to @marykaym63 "As a dietitian and breast cancer survivor, I would encourage her to eat a broad variety..." + (show)
@marykaym63

As a dietitian and breast cancer survivor, I would encourage her to eat a broad variety of foods that taste good to her. Finding foods that taste good can be a challenge, but she she should keep looking and trying foods that she might not normally eat. For instance watermelon tasted particularly good to me. When I couldn't find things that tasted good, I drank Carnation Instant breakfast for the overall nutritional value that it provided. I tended to eat pretty plain foods because highly spiced foods didn't agree. Once I finished chemo and radiation, it was several moths before most things were tasting good. There are some salad dressings that I still can't tolerate. For me, small frequent meals worked best. I also discovered my taste changed overtime, for example, something that tasted good one time did not taste good another time. The important thing is to keep eating and not worry about high fat, low carb, etc unless she has intolerances that need to be accommodated. There's plenty of time afterward to follow specific plans if she chooses to once she is finished with treatments.

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@marykaym63 Thank you for the details. I am also doing a nutrition course. She has diabetic and asked her to avoid sugar intake and reduce carb. Do you know any research articles or link that would help to understand breast cancer survivor specific nutrition?

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marykaym63 | @marykaym63 | Feb 4, 2019

I just googled breast cancer survivor nutrition and there are some good sites that have good information that come up. Mayo has dietians that are happy to meet with people and answer questions and provide direction. While there is a a lot of research going on with some good potential information, some of the information has not proven to be effective.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Feb 10, 2019

You may also be interested in these discussions and resources on Connect:

- Nutrition and Cancer: Getting protein in my diet https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/nutrition/
- Healthy diets for cancer patients https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/healthy-diets-for-cancer-patients/
- Video Q&A Cancer-Fighting Foods https://connect.mayoclinic.org/webinar/cancer-fighting-foods/

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