Nutrition for cancer can be a challenge. The side effects of chemotherapy present a Catch-22 for cancer patients: they are too sick to eat, but they need to eat to stay strong. Enteral nutrition, also called tube feeding, may be a solution.
Good nutrition for cancer patients is crucial to the recovery of cancer patients. Cancer nutrition is important because both cancer and its treatment are very hard on the body, and many patients find their strength sapped even with good nutrition. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy can wreak havoc on the patient’s gastrointestinal system, causing nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea that interfere with good nutrition.
Cancer patients often suffer from a condition called cachexia. Symptoms are weight loss, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, and loss of muscle mass (atrophy). In layman’s terms, cachexia is the process of “wasting away.”
Enteral Nutrition
If ordinary eating is not enough for a cancer patient’s nutrition, enteral nutrition, or tube feeding, may help. In enteral nutrition, a feeding tube called a nasogastric tube may be put in place. This procedure involves passing a plastic tube through the patient’s nose, down the throat, and into the stomach. The tube is small enough to allow the patient to continue to eat and swallow normally, but allows liquid food and supplements to be added to the diet. This can greatly improve the health of patients who have trouble eating enough. (ACS 2008)
Advantages
An alternative nutritional supplement for cancer patients is parenteral nutrition, in which liquid nutrients are put directly into the bloodstream, bypassing the stomach and intestines altogether. Enteral nutrition has advantages over parenteral nutrition.
In enteral nutrition, the patient’s intestinal muscles continue to function, so they do not atrophy. It maintains the balance of “good bacteria” in the intestines. For cancer nutrition, enteral nutrition generally is as good as, or better than, parenteral nutrition at preventing or treating cachexia and supporting the immune system. And enteral nutrition is also far less expensive.
For cancer patients who are having trouble maintaining their strength while undergoing treatment, enteral nutrition can be an important part of the treatment plan. Supplementing the diet this way helps these patients maintain their strength, feel better, and follow a smoother road to recovery.
References
American Cancer Society. “Nutrition for the Person with Cancer .” 2008, ACS website.
Mercadante, S. “Parenteral versus enteral nutrition in cancer patients: indications and practice.” Supportive Care in Cancer Feb 1998; 6(2):85-93.
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