Nutrition and Cancer
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Your risk for cancer depends on several factors. They include your genetic makeup and the environment you live in.
Lifestyle choices, such as diet, may not cause cancer. But they may play a role in the way people get cancer. About one out of every three of the half million US cancer deaths each year are due to dietary factors. Your genes determine, in part, how you respond to changes in your diet. So the response is not always the same in everyone. Some studies have tried to find out how genetic and environmental factors raise a woman's risk of cancer. But with certain types of cancer, like ovarian cancer, diet and the number of pregnancies can influence your risk. Over half the cases of ovarian cancer are in under developed countries. Differences in eating patterns have led researchers to study the possible link between diet and ovarian cancer.
Research on nutrition and cancer has included studies on breast, colon, prostate, bladder, and gastric cancers. There have not been, though, many studies on gynecologic cancers and nutrition. Some research has recently focused on a woman's risk of getting ovarian cancer. Things that have been studied include cancer risk and the intake of:
- milk
- saturated fat
- vegetables
- fruit
Some studies have shown that the fat in milk may increase a woman's risk of ovarian cancer. These studies have also shown a link between saturated fat and ovarian cancer. A diet low in saturated fats and high in vegetables may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. More research is needed to find out if the effect of diet is the same in women of different ages.
Poor Nutrition
Malnutrition in patients with cancer may be caused by many factors. Both the cancer and treatment may cause weight loss. They can also cause weakness as well as nutrient deficiencies. The weight loss, loss of appetite, and weakness associated with cancer is linked to changes that may need to be checked by the doctor. Patients with cervical and endometrial cancer may have problems with nutrition. But these problems are most commonly seen in women with ovarian cancer.
Sometimes patients need help with their diet. When a patient has lost 10 pounds or more in a short period of time, she may need a nutritional assessment. Her doctor can recommend a diet for her. Or her doctor can send her to see a nutritionist.
