Tailored diets may help cancer patients

EDMONTON, Alberta, March 12 Patients on chemotherapy often lose interest in eating, but a diet tailored to individual needs might improve quality of life, says a Canadian study.

Researchers at the University of Alberta say the most advanced cancer patients experience unique and persistent taste and smell abnormalities -- a key factor in malnutrition and poor quality of life.

Patients with chemotherapy dysfunction, believed to last long after patients have finished active chemotherapy or radiation therapy, have taste distortion, heightened sensitivity to odors and a persistent bad taste in the mouth, according to a study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management.

Often, individuals with severe sensory dysfunction will often eat only soup or oral nutritional supplements due to their distorted senses.

We are looking at how an altered sense of taste and smell affects the food you select. We argue that altered chemosensory perception is unique to the individual, says Dr. Wendy Wismer. In the same way people need unique corrective lenses for their eyesight, patients need unique solutions for chemosensory distortion.

Copyright 2007 by UPI

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