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Abstract

Cancer and its treatments often pose significant nutritional challenges for patients, leading to malnutrition, which impacts physical, emotional, and psychological well being. Loss of appetite, taste changes, difficulty swallowing, and malabsorption are common issues faced by cancer patients, contributing to malnutrition. As key members of the healthcare team, nurses and dietitians are instrumental in addressing these challenges and ensuring that patients receive proper nutrition. They collaborate to develop personalized nutrition plans tailored to individual needs, treatment protocols, and side effect management. Various feeding techniques are employed to meet the nutritional requirements of cancer patients. The interdisciplinary collaboration between nurses and dietitians is crucial for providing comprehensive care to cancer patients. Nutritional assessments, modified diets, appetite stimulation, pain management, and oral care are some of the strategies employed by these healthcare professionals to support oral feeding. A cancer survivor continues their journey post-treatment, nutrition remains a significant aspect of survivorship care. Nurse and dietitian led survivorship programs focus on promoting healthy lifestyles, and physical activity, and addressing long term dietary challenges faced by cancer survivors. In conclusion, the collaboration between nurses and dietitians plays a pivotal role in addressing the nutritional challenges faced by cancer patients. By providing personalized nutrition plans and interventions, these healthcare professionals enhance patient care, treatment tolerability, and overall well-being. Through their combined efforts, cancer patients are better equipped to face the challenges of treatment, improve their nutritional status, and ultimately lead better lives during and after their battle with cancer.

Keywords : Cancer; Nutritional challenges; Difficulty swallowing; Personalized nutrition plans; Feeding techniques; Interdisciplinary collaboration; Nutritional assessments; Modified diets.

Corresponding Author : Rajendra Kumar Sahu, Nurse Educator, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Cancer Centre Varanasi Uttar Pradesh 221005, India.