Malnutrition and weight loss

Many of the side effects of head and neck cancer treatment may make eating difficult, which can cause you to lose weight. Even a small drop in your weight (e.g. 3–4 kg), especially over a short period of time, may put you at risk of malnutrition. You can be malnourished even if you are overweight.

Unplanned weight loss and malnutrition can reduce your strength, energy and quality of life. This can affect how you respond to treatment, and side effects may be more severe and your recovery slower. During treatment and recovery, a dietitian can assess whether a feeding tube will help you maintain or gain weight.

For more on this, see Nutrition and cancer.

How to prevent unplanned weight loss

• Treat food like medicine: something you have to have so you can feel better.
• Eat 5–6 small meals a day rather than three large ones.
• Include high-energy and high-protein foods at every meal or snack. For example, drink milk rather than water and choose cheese and biscuits over lollies.
• Try ready-to-use nutritional supplement drinks from supermarkets and pharmacies (e.g. Sustagen, Ensure, Resource).
• If it is hard to swallow fluids without choking, talk to a speech pathologist for advice on thickening the supplement drink. (Thicker fluids are easier to control in your mouth so there is less chance of them going down the wrong way.)
• Keep a selection of snacks handy, e.g. in your bag or car.
• Talk to your doctor, nurse or dietitian if you are losing weight, or if you have pain or discomfort when swallowing food or drink.

Podcast: Appetite Loss and Nausea

Listen to more of our podcast for people affected by cancer