Why do you lose weight with cancer
Severe undernutrition in cancer patients is defined, in medical terms, as cancer cachexia and is caused by both a drop in the intake of food and by the metabolic alterations that occur in the patients' body following disease onset.
In particular, cancer patients eat less because of a series of factors related to the disease and to the specific cancer therapy they are undergoing:
- local effects caused by cancer: difficulties swallowing, feeling quickly full up or blockage in the intestines;
- side effects caused by cancer: loss of appetite, taste and smell alterations, nausea, vomiting, pain;
- psychological effects such as fear, depression, and anxiety;
- other side effects due to the specific cancer therapy being administered.
Cancer causes metabolic alterations which increases energy consumption and alters the way in which the body processes protein, fat and carbohydrate.
Being well nourished is important as it may help you to cope with your cancer treatment better. Being underweight or undernourished may mean that you are weaker, are more susceptible to picking up an infection or may need to stay in hospital longer.
Source: Nutrizioneoncologia.it
