Nobody wants to experience oral cancer in their lifetime, but unfortunately, it is the 6th most common cancer in the world. The main cause of this cancer is people’s lifestyle habit of consuming tobacco and alcohol.
What is oral cancer? It is a type of cancer that develops in the tissues of the mouth, throat, tongue, gums, and lips. Therefore, it gets difficult for people to eat with mouth cancer, which leads to weight loss and nutrient deficiency.
How can we deal with this issue? In this blog, we are going to understand the ways to get enough nutrients and maintain a healthy weight while fighting oral cancer.
Challenges Of Eating With Oral Cancer
Mouth cancer brings a lot of challenges, especially with eating and drinking. With every stage, these challenges keep growing if not treated well.
In the mouth cancer starting stage, it causes pain and discomfort when eating spicy, hot, and acidic foods. As the cancer grows, it becomes difficult for the person to swallow. There is a change in their taste, and the mouth becomes dry.
In the advanced oral cancer stages, the tumor grows and causes significant pain and ulceration in the mouth. Additionally, the tumor growth can severely damage the throat which makes it difficult for them to swallow.
These challenges can also impact a patient’s psychology and lead to anxiety, depression, and a sense of isolation. These psychological stresses can further decrease a patient’s appetite, and food intake and create a vicious cycle of malnutrition and emotional stress.
Due to these physical and psychological issues, it becomes difficult for oral cancer patients to eat and drink, which leads to nutritional deficiencies and weight loss.
Tips To Avoid Weight Loss With Oral Cancer
It can be difficult to manage weight while you are dealing with oral cancer. The continuous pain and difficulty in swallowing can make it difficult to eat and thus lead to weight loss.
However, with these tips, you can try managing your weight and nutritional deficiencies while dealing with oral cancer treatment:
1. Manage Pain And Discomfort
Cancer treatment and the tumor can increase the pain and discomfort. It can affect your eating schedule and it becomes difficult for the patient to eat.
In that case, before eating or drinking, they should take pain medication or apply the numbing gel to desensitize the area. These medications can help you reduce the discomfort and help you eat.
2. If You Have Dry Mouth
Most of the time, it’s seen that oral cancer patients have dry mouths because of the damage to the salivary gland. To cope with this, they can take small sips of water at regular intervals to maintain the moisture in their mouth.
They can eat foods that are hydrating, such as ice pops, watermelon slush, and applesauce. Additionally, they can use a saliva substitute to deal with dry mouth during eating.
3. Increase The Intake Of Calorie Dense Foods
If there is a sudden decrease in the patient’s weight, then they should start including calorie-dense foods in their diet that are easy to eat and swallow. They can include a good amount of healthy fats such as butter, cream, and oil in their soups, mashed potatoes, and smoothies.
4. Modify The Texture Of Food
Mouth cancer patients can have difficulty eating rough and hard foods. The tumor and treatment therapy make it difficult for them to move their jaw properly.
They should try to have soft and moist foods that do not require much chewing and are easy to swallow. If they find chewing a bit difficult, then they can be given food after pureeing it.
5 Use Nutritional Supplements
In addition to soft food, patients can have meal replacement drinks, which can add calories and nutrients. Moreover, including these nutrient supplements can fill up the void of nutrition because the patient is not able to eat properly.
6. Eat Small And Frequent Meals
Eating small and frequent meals or snacks every 2-3 hours can help the patient meet their daily calorie requirement and can help them maintain their weight. In the same way, having high-calorie snacks that are easy to eat for oral cancer can help them maintain their weight.
7. Include More Protein Rich Foods
High protein foods provide a good amount of energy along with carbs. So include soft protein like eggs, paneer, tofu, etc.
If it is difficult for the oral cancer patient to eat foods, then they can have protein shakes or powders to fulfill the body’s protein needs.
8. Enhance The Flavour Of Food To Stimulate Appetite
Oral cancer can lead to suppression of appetite because of psychological stress. In that case, enhancing the flavors of your food can help stimulate appetite.
Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that strong flavors can cause irritation and discomfort. Therefore, include mild herbs and spices to increase the flavor.
9. Seek Help From Dietitians
To create a personalized nutrition diet for mouth cancer patients, connect with dietitians who specialize in oncology. Moreover, it is important to monitor your weight and nutritional status to make necessary adjustments if required.
10. Coping With Emotional Stress
The stress of dealing with oral cancer can also make the patients lose weight and appetite. Support from counselors and loved ones can create a positive mealtime environment to encourage the patient to eat and cope with the situation.
What To Eat With Oral Cancer?
We now know that oral cancer patients have difficulty eating the usual food that we eat. The family members should give them food that they can eat and swallow easily. Below are some foods which are can be taken in an oral cancer diet.
1. Soft And Moist Foods
Foods such as mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, daliya, and applesauce are the food options that are easy to eat and swallow. It is good to enrich the mashed potatoes with butter, cream, or cheese for extra calories.
2. Smoothies And Shakes
Fruit smoothies, which include soft fruits like bananas, berries, or peaches with protein powder and nut butter, can make the smoothies easy to drink along with some extra nutrients.
For more nutrient-rich options, they can have a green smoothie, which includes spinach and kale with fruits or a liquid base
3. Soups And Broths
Creamy soups like butternut squash, potato, or vegetable soup with some added cream or chicken or panner puree will make the soup soothing and, nutritious.
If you are dealing with dry mouth and sore throat, then chicken or vegetable broths can be good for hydration and soothing sore mouth. Additionally, they can have purees of cooked vegetables along with broth, which makes the food easier to swallow.
4. Dairy Products
Dairy foods such as full-fat yogurt, soft cottage cheese, pudding, and custard are easy to eat. They also have extra healthy fat and calories, which can help you prevent weight loss. They can include cottage cheese with fruit puree to increase its nutrients.
5. Soft Protein
Tofu, fish, and boiled chicken are easy to include in soups or broth. Oral cancer patients can also eat fish like salmon or cod with sauces, which will increase the moisture of the food.
You can add the tender chicken in the form of a blend or shreds in the soups or casseroles.
6. Cooked Vegetables
The patients can eat carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables that are easy to steam. Then make a puree of the vegetables, which will make the food easy to swallow.
7. Grains And Starches
Carbs are the main source of energy for the body. They can have soft rice with broth or sauce. Additionally, they can have soft bread with milk or broth, which makes it easier for them to swallow.
8. Desserts
In the category of desserts, they can have ice cream, sorbet, mousse, and gelatin. They are easy to eat and swallow. Additionally, cool or room temperature is soothing for the patients.
9. Warm Beverages
During the chemotherapy treatment of cancer, nausea can be a side effect. If the patient is nauseous, then they can have warm beverages such as ginger tea or ginger ale to calm the sensation.
Additionally, it is important to keep their mouths dry with water, and if the patient likes, they can have milk.
Bottomline
In conclusion, in the process of oral cancer treatment, it is important to maintain nutrition and support the patient’s immune system. Therefore, having the right diet and foods that are easy to swallow can help manage the pain, discomfort, and other difficulties.
The foods that are soft and moist in the form of soups or broth are easier for the patients. Moreover, some patients like cool and room-temperature foods as they are soothing in their mouth and throat.
Along with these dietary practices, the family members need to create a positive mealtime environment. This will help the patient to cope with their psychological stresses due to the treatment process and discomfort.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Symptoms Of Oral Cancer?
Symptoms of oral cancer include persistent sores or ulcers in the mouth, red or white patches, difficulty swallowing, pain, and discomfort in the oral region. Moreover, it can cause lumps or thickening in the cheek, and some experience a change in the voice, or have a feeling that something is caught in the throat.
Can Oral Cancer Be Cured?
If the cancer is detected in the early stages, then it can be cured through surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Moreover, the success of the treatment also depends on the stage of the cancer, location, and overall health of the patient.
What Are The Causes Of Oral Cancer?
It is primarily caused by excessive alcohol consumption and use of tobacco, which includes smoking and smokeless tobacco. Other risk factors include human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and a low diet of fruits and vegetables can cause oral cancer.
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Disclaimer
This blog post will help you make healthier and better health choices. So be aware and take care. The most important thing to consider is your health before starting any specific diet or routine. Always seek advice from a doctor or dietitian if you have any concerns before starting.
Eat Healthy, Live Healthy. Enjoy a long, happy life.
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