How Does Kidney Cancer Affect Eating?

How does kidney cancer affect your eating? The impact on your life is complex since it can affect you both physically and psychologically!

Some cancer treatments are available to help cope with it. Appropriate lifestyle measures may help, too. For instance – you may also need to make some changes in diet, though the exact role of diet in cancer treatment is not fully known yet. Unfortunately, eating right is not always easy during and after cancer treatment.

Does eating right really help?

If you’re diagnosed with kidney cancer, the fact that you have had it cannot be changed! Fortunately, it is often treated successfully if caught early (see the outlook and prognosis in here). What you can do is how to make choices to help you stay healthy as well as you can and prevent the cancer from coming back after treatment.

As mentioned earlier, the precise link between what you eat and kidney cancer is still unknown. However your diet does have an effect on your overall health, a variable that also plays a role in the prognosis and outlook of patients with cancer. In fact, patients with good general health are likely to be better to cope with the condition.

While there is still little hard study providing evidence that diet changes will help treat the cancer or prevent it from coming back, some experts believe that eating right is always worth a try for people with cancer.

When the body is fighting against the cancer, it requires plenty of nutrients to work optimally. Some foods may also be beneficial if you’re undergoing therapy for cancer. For example – your dietitian may suggest you to eat more food high in vitamins (vitamins A and C) and fiber such as fresh, organic fruits and vegetables.

In general, a healthy-well balanced diet is required to help maintain your strength, prevent the infection, and prevent the tissues of the body from breaking down. It is also important to help promote the regeneration of your body’s normal tissues.

Diet is the key to keep your body weight healthy. Obesity is not only a risk factor of kidney cancer, but also may interfere with particular cancer treatments. For instance, many patients are usually recommended to maintain their calories during times of intense cancer treatments (such as radiation therapy and surgery).

If you’re obese or overweight, it’s better to talk to your doctor first before starting your weight-loss diet! Sometimes losing weight at specific times during treatment may become counterproductive.

How does kidney cancer affect eating?

image_illustration422Good nutrition is important for anyone since it plays a key role for good health, especially true if you have cancer. Eating the right kinds of foods can help stay stronger before, during, and after your cancer treatment. Even particular cancer treatments are likely to work better if you’re well nourished. And if the treatment works successfully, you may have a better prognosis.

Like anyone else – foods containing important nutrients (such as protein, vitamins, and minerals) and drinking adequate water every day – are recommended for your healthy diet. For more assistance, talk to your dietitian!

Unfortunately, again it’s not always easy to stay with a healthy diet if you have cancer. There are a number of reasons of why and how kidney cancer can affect eating. But in general, the cancer and its treatments are often to blame.

Kidney cancer and poor appetite

Still, blood in the urine is the most common symptom. But kidney cancer can also cause a number of other symptoms such as eating or taste problems, especially if it has become advanced.

Poor appetite is quite common in patients with cancer. Patients with poor appetite means that they may eat less than usual (lack of appetite), easy to feel full after eating (even after eating only a small amount), or not feel hungry at all (appetite loss)! Other symptoms of poor appetite may include:

  1. Disliking food that was once a favorite.
  2. Being put off by the smells of food.
  3. Gripes that food tastes ‘funny’.
  4. Just eating only 1-2 types of foods.
  5. Difficulty chewing & swallowing.

Some types of kidney cancer, especially at advanced stages, may cause changes in metabolism – though this issue is not fully understood yet. Furthermore, when the cancer cells have spread, they may also travel to parts of the body associated with your appetite control.

Advanced kidney cancer can be painful. The pain could be persistent (difficult to go away), typically felt in the flank area. And when this pain flares up, this may also affect your appetite.

Kidney cancer treatments

While the cancer treatments are usually necessary, especially if the cancer grows aggressively, in fact these treatments are a lot to cope with. Each treatment carries the risks – but in general, any treatment you take should outweigh the risks.

Appetite loss is a common problem during and after cancer treatment (such as surgery, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy). For many patients, the effects of cancer treatment often make it more difficult to eat well.

How does cancer treatment affect eating and appetite? The answer may vary from patient to patient. But the side effects of the treatment are often to blame.

The following are common side effects of cancer treatment that may contribute to cause appetite loss:

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