Preparing for treatment can get stressful. Here are some tips to help you get ready so that you feel more in control:
- Educate yourself about your diagnosis, treatment, and side effects. You may feel less anxious by preparing yourself. Not all patients experience the same side effects – including frequency, duration, and intensity. Many side effects can be controlled, and many symptoms go away once treatment ends.
- Eat a healthy diet and maintain your weight before treatment starts. Eating a healthy diet and maintaining weight before treatment helps you stay strong, lower your risk for infection, cope with side effects, and complete treatment as scheduled without breaks.
- Stock your freezer and your pantry and freezer ready-made, pre-portioned meals so you will not need to shop or cook as often. Include easy-to-eat foods that you can process even when mood and appetite are low, or foods you can eat even when you are feeling nauseous or sick.
- Organize (or delegate a loved one to organize) your friends or family members to help with shopping and cooking.
- Create a standard grocery list of items you typically buy so that it is easy for friends and family to shop for you.
- Talk to your provider or care team members about any concerns you have about eating and managing side effects like constipation, weight loss, malnutrition, dehydration, nausea or vomiting.
If your treatment includes radiation to the head or neck, you may be advised to have a feeding tube placed in your stomach before starting treatment to allow feeding if/when it gets hard to swallow.