Supportive care
Diet (Pathya) during and after treatment
Pathya means a suitable diet. During chemotherapy or radiation, food is about comfort, strength and getting enough to eat on hard days. We plan simple home meals around your treatment and your oncology team’s advice.
Call your oncologist first
A new lump, unexplained bleeding or weight loss, persistent pain, breathlessness, or fever during chemotherapy needs your oncologist or emergency care first.
Working with your oncologist
You continue under your oncologist. Our Ayurvedic care is coordinated with, and subject to, your treating oncology team.
Never start any Ayurvedic Medicine during chemotherapy or radiation without your oncologist and our doctor reviewing it together.
The basics
Three simple rules
Small and often
Five or six small meals a day are easier than three large ones. Eat by the clock on days you do not feel hungry.
Warm, soft and familiar
Home food the person already likes, cooked soft and seasoned gently.
Safe first
Follow the food-safety advice your oncology team or hospital dietitian gives, especially when blood counts are low.
Food for common problems
Low appetite
Try: small portions of khichdi, dal and rice, soft poha, upma or idli. Add a little ghee if your team allows.
Tell your oncology team if: you are losing weight without trying.
Nausea
Try: dry khakhra or toast, plain rice and room-temperature food. Keep away from strong cooking smells and fried food. Sip fluids between meals.
Tell your oncology team if: you cannot keep fluids down.
Mouth sores
Try: soft, cool, non-spicy food such as curd rice, dal water and mashed vegetables. Skip sour, spicy and crunchy food for now.
Tell your oncology team if: sores stop you eating or drinking.
Taste changes
Try: food that smells good to you, mild seasoning, and a mouth rinse before meals if your team advised one.
Tell your oncology team if: you are eating little for several days.
Constipation
Try: warm fluids through the day, soft cooked vegetables, and fibre as you tolerate it. Gentle walking helps if your team has cleared it.
Tell your oncology team if: you have pain with no bowel movement for several days.
Loose motions
Try: rice kanji, soft rice with dal, and plenty of fluids. Skip oily and spicy food until it settles.
Tell your oncology team if: it does not settle, you see blood, or you feel dizzy.
A sample day at home
- Early morning: a cup of warm water
- Breakfast: soft poha or upma
- Mid-morning: a fruit your team allows, or buttermilk
- Lunch: soft rice or phulka, dal and a cooked vegetable such as dudhi (bottle gourd). Curd if your team allows
- Evening: a light snack such as khakhra or a small bowl of soup
- Dinner: moong dal khichdi with a little ghee
- Bedtime: warm milk, if it suits you
This is a sample, not a prescription. Our doctor adjusts it to the person, the treatment and the season.
What food is for
Food here is for comfort, strength and recovery. We do not suggest any diet as a way to control the disease. We do not ask anyone to fast or to cut out whole food groups during treatment.
For the family cook
- Cook small batches, so fresh food is always ready.
- Keep a few favourite foods at hand for hungry moments.
- Serve food gently and never force it. Some days will be harder than others.
- Eat together whenever possible. Company helps appetite.
- Look after yourself too. More for caregivers
Common questions
Does Ayurveda cure cancer?
No. Ayurvedic supportive care focuses on comfort, appetite, sleep, digestion and strength while your oncology team treats the cancer.
Should we follow a special “cancer diet”?
No special diet replaces treatment. The goal is to eat enough, safely, with foods the person enjoys.
Should we stop sugar, milk or any other food?
Please do not cut out whole food groups without asking your oncology team. Our doctor adjusts foods to how the person feels.
Is it fine to add Ayurvedic powders or kadhas to food?
Not without a joint review. Please ask your oncologist and our doctor before adding anything new.
Talk to our doctor
Bring your treatment plan and a list of what the person eats in a normal day. We will plan meals around treatment days.