Mesothelioma Patients: Dietary Needs

Health Factor
Diet plays a pivotal role in maintaining the health of mesothelioma patients. The patient can remain in good shape and health in spite of the disease if the right food for proper nutrition is provided. Nutrients like protein become very essential if the mesothelioma patient is treated by radiation or surgery. Medication including chemotherapy produces nutrient imbalance in the patient’s body and replenishment of nutrients through proper and balanced diet becomes a necessity. Often the appetite in a mesothelioma patient is lost due to his worries and anxieties about the disease. Medication and treatment also result in vomiting, dry mouth, sore throat, loss of taste and smell, etc. that makes food not at all enjoyable to the patient.

General Diet
The nutritional needs of the mesothelioma patients change as the disease progresses and so change the diets. For an adult, a general diet low in fat is recommended by the health care community. This general diet consists of small quantity of dairy products and meat with larger share of vegetables, fruits and cereals. While during the treatment there is need in the body for more intakes of proteins and calories, the reduced appetite of the patient prevents this. The dietician or the doctor in such circumstances may advise the mesothelioma patient to eat more meat, milk and fat to supplement the body’s needs for protein and higher calories. To be able to do so, the patient has to reduce consumption of vegetables, cereals and fruits.

Special Diet
Often a special diet is advised during treatment of mesothelioma by the doctor or the dietician with a view to making good certain deficiencies that the patient may be having with respect to his health. Emergent needs of the body are supplemented with such special diets. The recommended diet may be some nutritional formula specially prepared or nutrients to supply the required vitamins and minerals.