Gain Weight in Chemotherapy

Cancer and its treatments can affect your eating habits — and your weight. Since weight gain or loss can affect your prognosis or your chance of recovery, it’s important to be mindful of what you eat during and after treatment. Don’t restrict your diet, make sure you take in enough calories and nutrients — especially protein — stay adequately hydrated, and be wary of supplements. Also, stay active and use apps to track nutrition and exercise.
Just after a cancer diagnosis, perhaps the last thing on your mind is how treatment might affect how or what you eat. But cancer itself — along with side effects from treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery — can significantly impact your appetite, eating habits, activity levels, and weight.
Most cancer patients lose weight during treatment, though certain therapies — particularly those for hormone-driven malignancies such as breast and prostate cancers — can trigger weight gain. Getting back to a “normal” diet after treatment is completed poses its own challenges. Since significant weight loss or gain can affect your prognosis (chance of recovery), careful weight management should not be an afterthought.