The Online Community asks "What can I eat?" - diet and food when you have cancer

Lots of people come to the Community looking for help around taking control of your diet, or worried that you might not be eating the right foods. Cancer or treatments can sometimes cause problems with eating, or may restrict what you can eat.

Whatever your situation around food, there is often support to be found through forums in the Community. In this Community News Blog, we will be sharing conversations from across the site and highlighting useful information around your diet when you have cancer.

Do I need  to make changes to my diet?

Members of the Community shared their thoughts and experiences in response.

You may have heard that certain diets can help you ‘beat cancer’, but when it comes down to it, there’s simply not enough evidence to back this up. Macmillan say that there is no one diet that is suitable for everyone with cancer. It depends on whether you are below or above a healthy weight for your height and what symptoms or side effects you have.

Where can I find advice about the right diet for me? 

Macmillan have some information about diet and food supplements here which might be useful to have a read through. 

If you feel you would like some professional nutrition advice, it can be difficult to choose the right person to help. Many people claim to be experts in nutrition but might have very limited knowledge and offer no protection to the public. Macmillan have this information about choosing a nutrition professional. 

You can also find support and advice from Macmillan Cancer Information Nurse Specialists through the online 'Ask a Nurse' sessions on the Community or contact the Macmillan Support Line.

Finding peer support from the Online Community

You might be looking for help with your own diet, or supporting someone else to eat healthily or keep their weight up. There's lots of support here from members of the Online Community around food. Particularly from the head and neck cancer forum, where food can be an additional challenge.

However difficult things might be initially, we hear from many members who are doing well following treatment.

Do you have a question about food and diet? Can you share your experiences of diet and cancer to help others? We would love to hear from you in the Online Community forums. If you need help with posting in the forums, you can find some help here or email the Community team at community@macmillan.org.uk. 

Looking for further information and support from Macmillan? The following links might be helpful:

• Know your food types - knowing about the different types of food can help you make healthier choices. It can also help you manage your weight.
• Food safety when your immunity is low - if your immunity is very low, you might need to avoid certain foods. This can help reduce your risk of getting an infection.
• Adding energy and protein to everyday foods - Adding energy and protein to your everyday food helps you to get the most calories and energy out of the food that you eat.
• Meal ideas and shopping for the building-up diet - further information to help with the buidling-up diet.
• Healthy eating, cancer and the cost of living - The cost of food and the weekly shop are continuing to rise and you might have noticed salad and fruit shortages in supermarkets. This can make it more challenging to follow healthy eating habits, both during and after cancer treatment. If you are struggling to afford key essentials such as food, there is help available. In this blog, we look at some easy and practical things you can try, as well as where you can get support.