CHILDREN LIVING WITH CANCER
It can leave them feeling very weak and tired and can often mean that they aren’t able to do everyday things that a child would typically enjoy, such as playing with their friends.1,2
Cancer can also significantly impact your child’s ability to eat. Often, cancer and cancer treatment can impact their sense of taste and smell, reduce their appetite, or may result in sickness and diarrhoea.3,4 This can mean they don’t feel well enough to eat, and their bodies may not get the nutrients they need, which can lead to malnutrition.5
This page provides more information on the importance of nutrition for children who have cancer and the types of nutritional support your child may receive.
Malnutrition in children with cancer is extremely common and may be caused by either the cancer itself or the treatment your child receives.6,7
Malnutrition is when the body can’t get the right amount of energy and/or nutrients it needs; sometimes, it might get too much (overnutrition), or sometimes, it might get too little (undernutrition).8 For children with cancer, this might be caused by:7
The tumour itself
using up a lot more
energy
Changes in taste
and loss of appetite
Side effects of
treatment, including
sickness, diarrhoea
and constipation
The body not being
able to absorb
nutrients as well
Not being able to tolerate treatment
Having to delay or stop treatment
Ability to recover
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Needing to spend more time in hospital
Increased risk of infection
Reduced quality of life
Your child’s healthcare professional may recommend nutritional support in the form of oral nutritional supplements (sometimes called sip feeds) if they believe your child has, or is at risk of developing, malnutrition in order to help provide the calories, protein and other important vitamins and minerals that their body needs.
If your child has particular difficulty eating through the mouth due to a severe loss of appetite or the effects of changes in taste7, then these supplements may be recommended as a tube feed.
If your child is having trouble tolerating food or nutritional supplements, their healthcare professional may recommend a special type of formula called a peptide-based feed. This may help lessen the chances of intolerance and improve how well their body absorbs nutrients to meet their nutritional needs.9
IT IS, THEREFORE, ESSENTIAL, IF YOUR CHILD HAS OR IS DISPLAYING SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE-RELATED MALNUTRITION, THAT YOU SPEAK TO THEIR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. SIGNS OF DISEASE-RELATED MALNUTRITION MAY INCLUDE:8
References:
1. St. Jude Together, 2023. Fatigue in Children with Cancer. Available online : https://together.stjude.org/en-us/diagnosis-treatment/side-effects/fatigue.html Last accessed January 2024
2. Diakatou V and Vassilakou T. Children 2020;7:218
3. Van Den Brink, M, et al. Appetite 2023;193:107174.
4. Pedretti, L, et al. Nutrients 2023;15(3):710.
5. National Cancer Institute, 2023. Nutrition in cancer care. Available online: National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/side-effects/appetite-loss/nutrition-pdq Last accessed January 2024
6. Joffe L Ladas EJ. Lancet Child Adolesc Health 2020;4(6):465-475
7. Triarico S et al. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2019;23(3):1165-1175.
8. NHS 2023. Malnutrition. Available online: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/malnutrition Last accessed February 2024
9. Selimoglu MA et al. Frontiers in Pediatrics. 2021;9:2296-2360
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ENSURE PLUS
1 x 220 ml
Flavor: Apple
1,5 kcal / ml
Nutrition Information
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| Unit | Per {ml-col-1} ml | Per {ml-col-2} ml |
| Unit | Per {ml-col-1} ml | Per {ml-col-2} ml |
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