Nutrition Before and During Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer

This video will help you learn what you can do to get enough nutrition to achieve or maintain a healthy weight before and as you start radiation treatment.

Before radiation and early in your treatment, you'll need to eat more than what you normally would so you don't lose weight. You'll need to focus on having more calories and protein than usual in order to heal.

Radiation stops or slows the growth of new cells in the areas being treated. This changes the tissue in your mouth. You'll make less saliva or none at all, which will change the healthy balance of bacteria in your mouth.

These changes can lead to sores in your mouth, cause tooth decay, and make your mouth dry, which may make it hard to swallow and change the way foods taste.

You may experience all of these side effects or just some. You may also find they come and go.

Because these side effects may make it hard to eat, you'll need to focus on eating foods high in calories and protein before your treatment starts. The labels on foods will tell you the calories and protein per serving.

Before and even in the first couple of weeks of treatment, your mouth may feel okay. During this time, continue to eat what you like. Like meats that are tough or chewy, foods that are spicy or rough, or other snacks, may be harder to eat later into treatment.

Crackers with cheese are a great snack that's high in calories and protein.

This is also a good time to find foods that are soft and easy to eat, and high in calories.

Foods high in calories include ice cream, pasta, fruit shakes, mayonnaise, avocado, sour cream, and butter. Many of these are good as snacks, or you can add them to your meals for extra calories.

Fat has a lot of calories in a small amount, so get full-fat products and cook with healthy fats like oil.

Foods high in protein include eggs, nut butters, hummus, Greek yogurt, cheeses, soft chicken, fish, and beans.

Keep a list of the soft foods you like to eat so you'll remember later.

Remember, before and early in your radiation treatment, eat high-calorie, high-protein foods. Eat the foods you like, but won't be able to eat later in your treatment. Make a list of soft foods you like, and have the contact information for your healthcare providers.

For more information, ask your healthcare provider for printed materials. You can also find information online by visiting www.mskcc.org/pe.