Mesothelioma Diet and Nutrition Tips

Mesothelioma Diet: Why Patients Should Focus on Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight is important for mesothelioma patients. This is especially valid before surgery or during a chemotherapy regimen.

Dr. David Rice, the director of the mesothelioma program at MD Anderson Cancer Center, spoke with the website Everyday Health about mesothelioma nutrition strategies. He sometimes has patients with low body weight, which could be a hazard since cancer treatments can cause weight loss.

Dr. Rice suggests working with a nutritionist for healthy calorie intake. Maintaining a proper weight can:

• Protect your body against infections
• Speed up your surgery recovery
• Increase your energy
• Boost your mental health
• Prevent chemotherapy side effects

What Mesothelioma Patients Should Eat and Drink

Nutrition is a major talking point for people with cancer, and there are numerous questions regarding mesothelioma diet. Inquiries such as “What food should mesothelioma patients eat?” can dominate their thoughts. “What should mesothelioma patients drink?” is another likely question.

The answers depend largely on each patient’s treatment plan. There are a few general tips for building a mesothelioma diet.

What to Eat and Drink Before Mesothelioma Surgery

Mesothelioma surgery is an effective treatment option. However, it can put the body through strain.

No matter the specific surgery, the patient’s body requires time to heal. This is why an effective mesothelioma diet is essential. Eating healthy foods supplements your immune system’s powers and helps you heal quicker.

The National Cancer Institute suggests patients eat a high-calorie, high-protein mesothelioma diet before their operation. To regain weight and strength, patients should plan easy-to-make meals prior to surgery and store them in the pantry or freezer.

What to Eat and Drink During Mesothelioma Treatment

Chemotherapy is FDA-approved for mesothelioma. The therapy attacks cancerous cells but also targets healthy cells, dropping the cell count and weakening the patient.

Food can help with muscle growth and preserving the body’s strength. The most important food type for a mesothelioma patient is plants or other organic foods. Recommended foods to consume in a mesothelioma diet include:

Potassium-rich foods also promote healthy muscles and nerves. Fruits like bananas, cantaloupes, mangos, orange juice, plantains and raisins are filled with potassium. Vegetables to prioritize in a mesothelioma diet include:

Patients should eat foods that promote mental health to combat chemo brain. Fish, nuts, avocado, omega-3 fats, fruits and vegetables are helpful for this.

Dr. Julie Lanford is the wellness director of Cancer Services, Inc. in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She listed a few mesothelioma diet tips to follow in an article on Conquer Magazine’s website:

Calories and Protein for Mesothelioma Patients

If you’re a mesothelioma patient, or a mesothelioma caregiver, then repeat these two words over and over again: calories and protein. Those are two of the most important factors when constructing a mesothelioma diet.

How to Add More Protein to Your Mesothelioma Diet

Your body needs protein to remain healthy and heal. While most people link protein to eating meat, there are other sources:

Ways to add more protein to your or your loved one’s mesothelioma diet include:

• Eating bread with hummus
• Snacking on roasted nuts or apple slices with cheese wedges
• Eating cheese or nut-based butters with crackers
• Adding high-protein foods to salads, soups, casseroles or omelets
• Consuming desserts made with eggs, such as puddings and custards
• Supplementing cereals and yogurts with seeds and nuts

How to Add More Calories to Your Mesothelioma Diet

Mesothelioma patients often feel nauseous and do not want to consume their normal calorie intake. They may skip or not finish a meal because they feel ill.

Focusing on high-calorie foods and meals is essential to maintaining strength. Here are some suggestions to maintain a healthy calorie amount:

Responding to Taste Changes Due to Chemotherapy

Changing taste buds is a common chemotherapy side effect. You may find food tastes bitter, overly sweet or just different than before. Additionally, food may smell less desirable.

There are safeguards against these changes:

If the food tastes very sweet, you can add salt to it. If food tastes too bitter, you can sweeten it with sauces or juices.

Eating and Drinking Safely During Treatment

When undergoing chemotherapy, your body is vulnerable to infections. The drop in healthy blood cells leaves your body exposed, and one way to contract a life-threatening disease is by eating unsafe foods.

The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center advises mesothelioma patients to practice four simple steps to avoid food-born illnesses:

What to Eat and Drink After Mesothelioma Treatment Ends

Healthy nutrition is vital for people who have concluded their treatment and aim to prevent recurrence of this cancer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called diet habits one of “six ways to stay healthy after cancer treatment.” In addition to obvious tips like avoiding extreme sun exposure, not smoking, drinking a lot of water, and staying active, the CDC suggests eating more fruits and vegetables.

Examples of Foods to Eat After Mesothelioma Treatment

Foods with little fat and a lot of vitamins, fiber and minerals are essential after treatment. Whole-grain breads and cereals will help regain your strength and rebuild your tissue. Others are:

How Exercise Helps Fight Mesothelioma

Exercise, along with diet and nutrition, benefits cancer patients in many ways. The body strengthens prior to treatment and recovers quicker after surgery or chemotherapy. Mental health and quality of life also improves with regular physical activity.

Is there a deeper biological effect from exercise? Is exercise one of the ways to make the immune system stronger?

Scientists in Denmark have started a clinical trial to test if high-intensity aerobic exercise and training can mobilize immune cells. Can the immune system react quicker and more effectively to cancer treatment if the patient is working up a sweat? If the answer is yes – that exercise turns on some switch for the immune system – then it’s another reason to exercise before treatment starts, during treatment and even after treatment ends.

The study is specifically for non-small-cell lung cancer, which is the most common type of lung cancer. However, the results may translate to other types of cancer, including the rare cancer mesothelioma.

High-Intensity Aerobic Exercise Routine

Researchers in Denmark expect regular exercise to cause “an adrenalin-mediated increased influx of T and NK cells into the tumor, altering the tumor microenvironment and leading to reduced tumor growth.”

The study has up to 70 spots for non-small-cell lung cancer patients. Half receive an exercise regimen of supervised and group exercise activities. These patients participate in physical training three times a week for six weeks, for around 40 minutes per session. The other half in the trial do not partake in the exercises.

The exercise regimen is:

• 15 minutes of warm-up
• 17 minutes of interval training
• 2 minutes of cool down

The exercises included bicycling, rowing, cross training, step up and step down training, and more. They were done on machines or equipment.
The study began in August 2020 but paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which stopped many clinical trials for cancers like mesothelioma and lung cancer. It restarted and now has enrolled 23 patients as of January 2022. All patients receive immunotherapy checkpoint inhibitor treatment, possibly combined with chemotherapy. The primary measurements to determine if exercise impacts the immune system are:

• Number of circulating NK cells in or near the tumor microenvironment
• Number of other immune cells in or near the tumor location
• Infiltration of immune cells into the tumor

The theory is T cells and NK cells become more mobile with upticks in adrenaline. Since exercise causes adrenaline, the belief is exercise can make T cells and NK cells more active.

Mesothelioma Nutrition Advice From an Expert

Nutrition is just one aspect of staying healthy before, during and after mesothelioma treatment. These suggestions should help patients prepare for surgery, manage chemotherapy, and form a healthy lifestyle. All could contribute to a longer life expectancy than the average for mesothelioma.

The goals for all mesothelioma patients are to live past their prognosis and uphold their quality of life. A healthy mesothelioma diet is one of many ways you and others can achieve these goals.

We at Mesothelioma Guide have detailed how these survivors have lived long past the average life expectancy. Contact our medical team and request our free Survivors Guide book to learn how they beat mesothelioma.