Effects of Childhood Cancer on Nutrition

Diet is an important part of our day-to-day lives, but it plays an especially important role in the lives of children with cancer.

Treatments for childhood cancer and other diseases can affect appetite. For that reason, a team of dieticians at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is working with patients to ensure proper nutritional care.

Most common side effects can cause nausea, unusual allergies and mouth sores as well as changes to the sense of taste. This means that children suffering through cancer may also suffer through malnutrition and may not enjoy food like they used to. Nutritional care that helps patients achieve normal growth and weight gain is important to their overall well-being.

Certified specialists, including pediatric specialists, nutrition support specialists, and international board-certified lactation specialists will work together through intensive training in pediatric nutrition in order to work out meal plans that will be most beneficial to children suffering with cancer.

The team is also looking at the long-term effects and impact that cancer treatment has on nutritional status.