Good Nutrition for Cancer Recovery - a nutritional resource for the treatment of cancer-induced weight loss

Cancer-induced weight loss is a debilitating condition which affects 31-87% of patients with cancer and is recognised to be a negative prognostic indicator for a range of malignancies. Although intensive nutritional intervention has been shown to play a beneficial role in weight stabilisation, one-to-one dietetic counselling is not available for all patients. The aim of the 'Good Nutrition for Cancer Recovery' initiative was to produce an Irish resource that translates clinical nutrition recommendations into simple information and nutritious recipes appropriate for patients with cancer-induced weight loss. High-protein, high-energy recipe guidelines, based on recommendations for nutritionally vulnerable patients, were developed and distributed to all members of the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute, specialist oncology dietitians and nurses, patients and carers, as well as professional chefs from across Ireland. The resulting recipes were analysed and professional chefs consulted in order to optimise the nutritional composition of these meals. This process resulted in a 120-page resource for patients with cancer-induced weight loss, containing nutrition information, advice and a bank of nourishing recipes. Recipes were enriched and portion sizes adjusted to ensure that meals were nutrient dense and appropriate in size for patients with small appetites. Nineteen thousand copies of the resource were printed and distributed to >74 locations and made available to patients free of charge. An extensive outreach campaign was launched in order to disseminate the information to all relevant stakeholders. This extensive resource is now widely available to facilitate patients in achieving the energy and protein levels required to attenuate cancer-induced weight loss.