First of all ask your docter for guidance on diet and nutrition, as there may be recommendations which apply directly to your treatment. He/She can also advise you on problems that may acrue in appetite or nutrition requirements which you should be aware of, and how to deal with them.

Healthy Eating
Good nutrition is the basis for maintaining strength and stamina to cope with the side effects of treatment. Your doctor will know that and will want to give the best advice so that your body can most effectively deal with those side effects, have fewest infections, heal faster, and recover quickly in the period between treatments.

Good Nutrition Benefits

Your body needs nutrients for ongoing energy requirements and for repair. Maintaining a balanced nutritious diet provides the calories in the right form to -
1. prevent weight loss.
2. provide your energy requirements.
3. provide the proteins needed to build and repair.
4. support your immune system.
5. keep your blood supply strong and the nutrients circulating.

Poor Nutrition Problems

If you do not get enough healthy calories, your body will be forced to use the protein it does get for short term energy requirements and not for longer term repair. If the treatment or a reaction causes loss of appetite and you eat less that your body needs then your body uses it's stored fat, protein and vitamins and minerals nutrients to provide the energy called for and this can deplete the amount available for building and reparing body tissue. It should also be remembered that some nutrients cannot be stored in the body, and you need to eat foods that contains them every day, ideally.

What Do We Need?

Typical calorific intakes required to maintain ones weight and balanced diet info can be found in 5_a_day. The quality of your diet is very important so that all your body's needs are met, hence talk of balanced diets. A general rule used by many is that for maintaining ones body weight one should take the required calorie intake per day as being equal to ones body weight in pounds multiplied by 15. So someone who weighed 160 pounds would multiply 160 by 15 to get 2300 calories as the daily calorie intake. If you are still losing weight continually, you may not be getting enough calories and could probably increase your intake to maintain your required weight. Don't forget to check with your doctor though that your projected plans are wise in your circumstances.

You may have to try various dishes, vegetables, fruits, sandwiches, salads, and spreads to get ones that you can tolerate while taking your cancer treatment, but endeavour to get a balanced diet for optimum benefit.

You can add a high-calorie, high-protein drink to supplement your daily food intake and get the nutrients you need. And Soy creamers and other Soy products could be used to give variety to the protein you eat.

Fruits and Veggies provide vitamins and minerals, and also anti-oxidants and phytochemicals to assist your recovery. Dairy foods provide protein, calcium (the richest source in most diets) and vitamins. Use polyunsaturated fats which research suggests may help increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy. If you decide to take any supplements which provide minerals and vitamins in large doses you should check with your doctor that it will have an overall beneficial effect when your diet and treatment are taken into account.

Eating It All Up
The following tips could help you to maintain the healthful nutritious food intake you want despite if you are experiencing side effects because of your cancer treatments. Not all patients have side effects during treatment though but if you are one of thes then these ideas may help till the course of treatment finishes and the side effects go away.

A, Eat little and often, and when you feel hungry, rather than trying to force yourself at regular mealtime only. Keep your favorite healthy snacks where you can reach them easily.
B, Eat more meals with family and friends. You will probably eat better when you have company.
C, You can use special nutritional drinks if for a time you cannot face solid food, or if your mouth is sore. You can also have more soups to get your calorie intake, milkshakes and fruit, and avoid hard/rough foods like crackers, or acidic ones like citrus juices!
D, If you cannot face cooking, or perhaps cooking smells make you feel nauseaus, then ask a friend or a family member to prepare meals that you can re-heat in the microwave easily when you are ready.
E, Drink plenty of liquid and if you develop an intolerance for dairy products try soy product as a substitute.
F. In cases of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea it is important to be careful about dehydration, so plenty of fluids are needed here also. Select foods whose smell will not exacerbate the problem and avoid those which may prolong or encourage it - like fatty foods, or foods that might give you gas or cramps such as fizzy drinks, beans, cabbage and broccoli. Good things to have would be cooked vegetables and canned fruit.

Once more it would be wise to consult your doctor if diarrhea is a continuing problem as this can cause a loss of sodium and potassium from the body, and he would recommend the right things to replace them in your case. This could include sports drinks which are formulated to replace lost electrolytes.

This general advice is given to show you some of the things which can help an individual who is undergoing cancer treatment, but it is NOT to be considered as a subsitute for or to be used in place of consulting a trained medical practitioner in the field of cancer treatment. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare provider.