Diet and Nutrition

Following a blood cancer diagnosis, diet and nutrition may not be the first thing that you want to think about. However eating a balanced diet is one of the best choices you can make for your overall health.

Keeping to a healthy weight will help you to feel better, maintain or regain your strength and have more energy. It can also play a vital role in how you cope with treatment as an individual.

The effects of treatment mean that making changes to your diet is not always easy. Talk to your doctor or nurse about your individual situation, as they may be able to refer you to a dietician.

The information on these pages are a guide and you should always speak to your medical team about your personal circumstances.

What is neutropenia and a healthy diet?

Treatment for all types of cancer acts to ‘kill off’ the harmful tumour cells in the body, and in doing so the treatment can also destroy healthy cells.

Side effects and diet

There are a number of side effects which could impact on your diet

What you need to be careful of

Treatment for most types of blood cancers will result in lower levels of white blood cells, neutrophils, that would usually fight food poisoning bacteria.  Also, the lining of the gut acts as a barrier preventing bacteria from reaching the bloodstream, and during chemotherapy and radiotherapy this can become damaged, increasing the risk of infection

Food safety advice where neutrophil counts < 2.0 x 109/litre

The following advice is taken from British Dietetic Association 2016

Videos about diet

Do you ever wonder just how much pasta is the right amount? Or how many portions are in a punnet of grapes? Trying to maintain a balanced diet can be difficult, especially when you're being treated for, or recovering from, leukaemia. So, we've created a brand new video where we've simplified Public Health England's guidelines on portion sizes.

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