The main points
- Nearly 1 in 5 people with cancer also has diabetes.
- A cancer diagnosis can upset diabetes management and your eating plan.
- Cancer treatment affects blood sugar — and there are ways to still get the nutrition you need.
How cancer treatment affects blood sugar
| Treatment | Effect |
|---|---|
| Chemotherapy | kills or shrinks cancer cells but harms some healthy ones, causing mouth sores, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite — which can make eating hard and lead to low blood sugar |
| Radiation therapy | makes the body release extra sugar to cope, which can cause a blood sugar spike; its fatigue can make meal and activity plans harder to keep |
| Hormone therapy (often for prostate and breast cancer) | blocks the hormones cancer cells need to grow, but can cause nausea and fatigue that make eating well and staying active hard |
| Other medicines | steroids, often given with chemo to ease nausea and vomiting, raise blood sugar |
Diabetes care doesn't have to take a back seat. Keeping blood sugar in check may even help cancer treatment by lowering the risk of infections.
What to eat
On days you feel well enough, follow a balanced meal plan that supports your diabetes. Some days you won't want to eat — that's normal, so don't restrict your diet too much. If you lose interest in food or lose weight quickly, talk with both your diabetes and cancer care teams. You might try:
- Healthy foods higher in calories or protein — small portions can supply what a big meal can't. Add avocado, olive oil, hard-boiled eggs, beans, peas, nuts or seeds to a salad, or try high-protein milk or yogurt.
- Foods that stir your appetite — naturally sweet foods such as bananas and nut butter, or bitter ones such as lemon juice and vinegar, which get saliva flowing.
- Foods you enjoy — diabetes doesn't rule out favorite treats in moderation, which can keep you going through treatment. Treatment can change how foods taste, so try healthy foods you didn't like before; you may find a new favorite.
For caregivers
If you care for someone with diabetes and cancer, you can help them eat well:
- Keep track of what they eat and their blood sugar, and share the record with their care team, which can shape a meal plan for both conditions.
- Serve five or six small meals a day instead of three big ones where you can. Small portions eaten slowly help with poor appetite and blood sugar spikes. Cooking ahead and freezing meals saves time.
- Keep healthy snacks handy — apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt with berries, whole-grain crackers.
- Don't blame yourself or them when eating is hard; treatment side effects can take away appetite despite your best efforts. Tell the care team what you're doing and where you need help.
Living with both conditions is hard, but you're not alone. Ask your care team how to manage both at once, and look into diabetes self-management education and support.
Sources
Based on "I Have Diabetes and Cancer. What Can I Eat?", Diabetes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The source's stock photograph is not reproduced.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
1
0
0
0
Comments
