Some breast cancer treatments can affect your appetite, bring on nausea or change the way food tastes or smells. However, eating a healthy diet during this time will help to ensure your body has what it needs to repair cells and help you function better.
Some women choose to make fairly drastic changes to their diet after a breast cancer diagnosis. However there is no scientific evidence that women with breast cancer need a special diet.
Health practitioners recommend a healthy, balanced diet which includes foods from all five food groups:
- bread, cereals, rice, pasta, noodles
- vegetables
- fruit
- milk, yoghurt, cheese
- meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts, legumes.
"Some days during chemotherapy everything tastes like cardboard. For me, the only thing that always tasted good was chocolate after-dinner mints, so after I ate what I needed for good nutrition, I gave myself a little reward." --Christine
Tips:
- Making radical changes to your diet may affect your energy levels, so before making significant changes you may like to talk to a member of your treatment team.
- Some vitamin supplements and herbal and homeopathic treatments can interfere with breast cancer treatments, so talk to your medical oncologist before adding these to your diet.
- Many hospitals and community health centres have dieticians who can provide advice on healthy eating if you have concerns about your diet.
More information
- Read the section on Nutrition and exercise in the My Journey Kit Information Guide.
- Contact the Cancer Helpline on 13 11 20 for a copy of the Cancer Council's booklet on eating well despite treatment side effects, or visit your state or territory Cancer Council website to download the booklet online.
- Read Domini Stuart's book Staying Well After Breast Cancer.
- Read the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute's brochure Nutrition after Breast Cancer. You can order a copy to be posted to you free of charge through their website.
