cancer kafri

• Cancer


  A large set of diseases that can target almost any organ (except one?) in the body including the immune system in which cell divide with no control and infiltrating any system in the process
• Cancer cells


  • Have a great ability to survive and adapt to their surrounding environment
  • Can evade host defenses and spread undetected to any part of the body in a process known as metastasis
• Causes of cancer


  There is no per se a cause and effect similar to an infectious disease, but exposure to a cause or a combination of causes for a long time can result in increasing the chances of cancer
• Risk factors for cancer

  • Modifiable risk factors
  • Non-modifiable risk factors
• Modifiable risk factors that increase cancer risk

  • Smoking
  • Charred meat
  • Processed meat
  • Alcohol
  • Obesity
  • Salted and salt preserved food
  • Foods that damage the lining of the stomach and intestine
• Modifiable risk factors that decrease cancer risk

  • Fresh fruits
  • Non-starchy vegetables
  • High fiber foods
  • Physical activity
• Health monitoring is key for cancer
• Cancer treatment


  • Has shown huge advancement since the 1990s
  • Is becoming less exhausting to patients
  • May not be available everywhere (Hormon, targeted, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, surgery)
• Side effects of cancer treatment

  • Cancer cachexia (weight loss, muscle loss, malnutrition)
  • Loss of appetite
  • Insulin resistance
  • Increased protein turnover
  • Reduced protein synthesis
  • Increased gluconeogenesis
  • Anorexia
  • Pain
  • Obstruction in the GI tract
  • Chronic nausea & vomiting
  • Fatigue
  • Mental stress
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Altered taste
  • Food aversions
  • Inflammation of the mouth and esophagus
  • Dry mouth
  • Mouth sores
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Intestinal cramping
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • Gastritis
  • Fistula formation
  • Reduced gastric acid secretion
  • Reduced gastric motility
  • Steatorrhea (fat malabsorption)
  • Stenosis (constriction)
  • Fluid & electrolyte imbalances
  • Blind loop formation
• Goals of nutritional support for cancer patients

  • Cure
  • Control
  • Improve quality of life and duration
  • Palliative (when cure and control fail)
• Types of nutritional support for cancer patients

  • Modified oral diet
  • Assisted feeding
  • Artificial Nutrition (Enteral & Parenteral Nutrition)