- Nutrition for the Person With Cancer During Treatment:A Guide for Patients and Families
- Benefits of good nutrition
- Cancer and cancer treatment affect nutrition
- Before treatment begins
- Once treatment starts
- Managing eating problems caused by surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy
- For people with weakened immune systems
- How to cope with common eating problems
- Appetite changes
- Constipation
- Diarrhea
- Fatigue
- Mouth dryness or thick saliva
- Mouth or throat pain or sores
- Nausea
- Swallowing problems
- Taste and smell changes
- Weight gain
- Nutrition after treatment ends
- To learn more
- Recipes to try
Swallowing problems
Cancer and its treatments can sometimes cause trouble with swallowing. If you are having problems swallowing, try eating soft or liquid foods. You may be able to swallow thick fluids more easily than thin liquids. If you are unable to eat enough regular foods to meet your nutritional needs, drink high-calorie and high-protein liquids.
Your doctor may refer you to a speech therapist. This is an expert health professional who can teach you how to swallow easier and how to decrease coughing and choking when you eat and drink.
What to do
- Follow your speech therapist’s instructions for any special eating techniques.
- Call your doctor right away if you cough or choke while eating, especially if you have a fever.
- Eat small, frequent meals.
- Use canned liquid nutritional supplements if you are unable to eat enough food to meet your needs.
- Chop or puree your food in a blender or food processor.
- Drink 6 to 8 cups of fluid each day, and thicken the fluid to the consistency that is easiest for you to swallow (see below).
- Try these thickening products:
- Use to help eat cakes, cookies, crackers, sandwiches, pureed fruits, and other cold food. Mix 1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin in 2 cups hot liquid until dissolved; pour over food. Allow food to sit until saturated.
- flour, and cornstarch: Use to thicken liquids. Note that these must be cooked before using.
- thickeners: Follow label instructions, and use to adjust a liquid’s thickness.
- vegetables and instant potatoes: Use in soups. Note that these change the food’s flavor.
- rice cereal: Use to make a very thick product.
- If thin liquids are recommended for you, try these: coffee, tea, soft drinks, liquid nutritional supplements, Italian ice, sherbet, broth, and thin cream-based soups.
- If thick liquids are recommended for you, try these: buttermilk, eggnog, milk shakes, yogurt shakes, and ice cream.
What to eat when you have trouble swallowing (pureed and thick-liquid diet)+
Puréed thick-liquid diet |
Mechanical soft diet | |
Protein |
Thickened milk, yogurt without fruit, cottage cheese, sour cream Casseroles Soft-scrambled eggs Puréed meat, poultry, and fish |
Milk, yogurt, cheeses, sour cream All eggs Ground meats and ground-meat casseroles, fish, sandwiches made with ground meats or spreads |
Breads, cereals, pasta, and rice |
Slurry^ of cooked cereals like Cream of Wheat and Cream of Rice |
Soft breads Graham crackers, cookies Soft cold cereals in milk Pancakes, waffles Pasta, rice |
Fruits and vegetables |
Puréed fruit and vegetables without seeds and skins Mashed potatoes |
Bananas Canned fruit Soft, well-cooked, or puréed vegetables |
Drinks, desserts, and other foods |
Thickened juices and nectars Thick milk shakes Thickened broths and cream soups Custards, puddings Slurried^ cakes and cookies Syrups, honey, butter, margarine Spices as tolerated |
All beverages Soft desserts that do not require much chewing (like ice cream, sherbet, flavored gelatin, pudding, custard), soft cakes and cookies Syrups, honey, butter, margarine Spices |
^ A slurry is a thin paste of water and cereal or flour that can be stirred into hot preparations as a thickener. A slurry on top of bread or cake makes it moist and easier to swallow.
+ Adapted from Grant BL, Bloch AS, Hamilton KK, Thomson CA. American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Nutrition for Cancer Survivors, 2nd Edition. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society; 2010.
Last Medical Review: 05/26/2012
Last Revised: 03/15/2013