Soft Tissue Sarcoma Nutrition Therapy

Nutrition Therapy for Soft Tissue Sarcoma

The nutrition therapy team at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is dedicated to helping you stay strong and nutritionally balanced, so you can maintain your quality of life while fighting cancer.

Your Individualized Nutrition Therapy Treatment Plan

Every soft tissue sarcoma patient is scheduled to meet with a registered dietitian during their first visit to CTCA. At this time, your dietitian will look at your health history; type, stage and location of the sarcoma; and your treatment plan, in order to recommend nourishing foods during your cancer care.

As part of your CTCA care team, our licensed and registered dietitians will work with you every step of the way to develop an individualized nutrition therapy plan designed to help you stay strong and well-nourished throughout your treatment:

• Prior to treatment, your dietitian and gastroenterologist will assess your nutritional needs and identify any barriers or challenges. They will then work with you to develop an individualized plan to address any nutritional deficiencies and ensure that your dietary requirements are met. If you are too weak or malnourished to begin treatment immediately, your nutrition therapy team can help you rebuild your strength and prepare you to move forward with your treatment plan.
• Throughout your treatment, your dietitian will monitor your nutritional status, making modifications to your soft tissue sarcoma nutrition therapy plan as needed. Your dietitian will develop nourishing meal plans, recommend vitamin and mineral supplementation and provide grocery shopping tours to help you read food labels and make healthy food selections.
• After treatment, your dietitian will provide education about healthy eating habits to you and your family members, so that you can continue a healthy lifestyle after you return home. Many dietitians are also available to answer any questions you have about nutrition between your visits to a CTCA hospital.

Combating Side Effects with Soft Tissue Sarcoma Nutrition Therapy

Soft tissue sarcomas, especially GISTs or other abdominal sarcoma tumors, can cause patients to experience gastrointestinal symptoms during treatment. Symptoms like decreased appetite, nausea, diarrhea and constipation can be uncomfortable, and may decrease your ability to stay well nourished. This can interfere with your treatment progress. That’s why at CTCA we believe that the team approach is integral to helping you through your soft tissue sarcoma treatment.

Your nutrition team will listen to your needs, and provide nutrition therapy to help combat the side effects of your specific treatment plan:

• If you experience nausea, your dietitian may recommend that you eat more cold foods, because they don’t have a strong odor, as well as items lower in fat since fats take longer to digest.
• If you experience constipation, your dietitian may encourage you to eat fiber-rich foods and increase your fluid intake.
• To combat fatigue, your dietitian may recommend high-protein snacks and small, frequent meals rather than large meals.

For soft tissue sarcoma patients who are undergoing aggressive treatments and are not able to meet their nutrition needs orally, the nutrition team will provide alternative options, including IV nutrition and feeding tubes.

Soft Tissue Sarcoma Care Under One Roof

Your nutrition therapy team is just one aspect of your overall care team, and communicates regularly with your oncologists and other clinicians to make sure that everyone is up-to-date on your current treatment status. Each member of your care team will meet with you in one room, allowing for privacy and convenience during your treatment process.

To learn more about nutrition therapy for soft tissue sarcoma patients, or more about what makes CTCA different, feel free to call us any time at 1-800-615-3055. Or, Chat Now to connect with an Oncology Information Specialist. We are here to answer questions 24 hours a day, every day of the week.

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