Nutrition and Dietetics

Eating well is an important part of everyday life. However, when faced with a cancer diagnosis eating and knowing what to eat can become difficult. Add to this the overwhelming amount of information available on diet/nutrition, and it can become confusing and worrying. This webpage will provide you with a trusted source of dietary information. It also guides you to the dietetic team at Velindre Cancer Centre and the services they can offer you as a patient here.

Why trust a dietitian?

Dietitians are the only qualified health professionals that assess, diagnose and treat dietary and nutritional problems at an individual and wider public-health level. They work with both healthy and sick people. Uniquely, dietitians use the most up-to-date public health and scientific research on food, health and disease which they translate into practical guidance to enable people to make appropriate lifestyle and food choices. Dietitians are the only nutrition professionals to be regulated by law, and are governed by an ethical code to ensure that they always work to the highest standard.

Why is nutrition important when an individual has been diagnosed with cancer?

Your body needs good nutrition to work efficiently. It is important to have all the energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins & minerals that your body needs and in the right balance. When you have a cancer diagnosis your nutritional requirements may change or increase and you may need help and support to understand how best to improve your intake.

Eating well can give you strength and energy, a feeling of well-being and help with your recovery from any treatments you may be having or have had. If you are well nourished you are more likely to tolerate and recover from your treatment better. Choosing the right food to eat can also help give you relief from some of the troublesome symptoms your disease or treatment can cause.

Good nutrition as part of healthy lifestyle can also help to prevent other diseases/conditions such as heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. It can also help to prevent cancer reoccurrence and reduce your risk of certain cancers overall.