When you have cancer, you need good nutrition to help keep your body strong. To do this you will need to watch the foods you eat and how you prepare them.
Some raw foods can contain germs that can hurt you when cancer or treatment weakens your immune system. Ask your doctor or nurse about how to eat well but safely.
When you eat eggs:
Be careful when you have dairy products:
Fruits and vegetables:
Do not eat raw honey. Eat only heat-treated honey. Avoid sweets that have creamy fillings.
When you cook, make sure you cook your food long enough.
Do not buy uncooked tofu. Tofu should be cooked for at least 5 minutes.
When eating chicken and other poultry:
If you cook beef, lamb, pork, or venison:
When eating fish, oysters, and other shellfish:
Heat all casseroles to 165 °F. Heat hot dogs and lunch meats to steaming before you eat them.
When you eat out, stay AWAY from:
Ask if all fruit juices are pasteurized.
Use only salad dressings, sauces, and salsas from single-serving packages. Eat out at times when restaurants are less crowded. Always ask for your food to be prepared fresh, even at fast food restaurants.
National Cancer Institute. Nutrition and cancer care (PDQ). Accessed October 21, 2010.
Updated by: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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