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Dietary Advice for Chewing and Swallowing Issues and
Treating cancer of the head, neck and throat, whether it be with chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery, can leave one with issues such as difficulty chewing and swallowing, painful swallowing, altered tastes and dry mouth. This can lead to disinterest in food and eating in general. This is ultimately detrimental to the body when it is trying to fight a disease such as cancer.
If you are about to begin such cancer treatment, it is wise to discuss these issues with your dietitian beforehand, so you can be prepared. They can advise you on simple ways to make chewing and swallowing easier, such as modifying the temperature of foods, modifying the texture of foods, avoiding irritant foods, changing to more suitable cutlery and even some eating techniques. A dietitian can also advise you on ensuring your nutritional intake is adequate and can offer ideas on how to boost the energy content of liquid meals using sugar, glucose and skim milk powder. They can also recommend a number of supplements to increase your nutrient intake, eg Ensure or Hospital Sustagen, Resource fruit beverage or Prosure.
A dry mouth can be the result of chemo and radiotherapy. If this is the case, liquid meals and supplements will become more desirable and more important for maintain adequate nutrition. Some foods can aid the flow of saliva, such as sucking on jubes or gums, and some can stick to the mouth, such as mashed potato. Discuss this with your dietitian.
Ultimately, ensuring adequate food intake, and thus preventing malnutrition is the main dietary aim during cancer treatment. To allow this to happen, food must remain appealing and appetising to the individual. It is important to find liquid meals one can tolerate and that one finds tasty. Experiment with a variety of liquids, sauces and gravies of various flavours. Try a number of supplements before discounting them as not palatable. A dietitian can help advise which supplements may appeal to your tastes.
Added to site on : Saturday, 16 June 2012