Your child’s pediatric oncology team and registered dietitian are your best partners when questions about nutrition arise during treatment. Every child’s needs are unique, but understanding some of the common challenges families face can help you feel more prepared. We hope the ideas and resources in this article provide practical support and helpful conversation starters as you work with your child’s medical team to find the best approach for your family.
Along with the many emotional and physical challenges of childhood cancer treatment, mealtimes can quickly become another source of stress. Appetite changes, shifting food preferences, and fluctuations in weight are all common, leaving parents and caregivers feeling worried, overwhelmed, and unsure of what to do next. The good news is that you don’t have to navigate these challenges alone. With support from your care team and a few practical strategies, you can help your child get the nutrition they need throughout treatment.
How Cancer Treatment Affects Appetite and Weight
Weight loss is common among children undergoing cancer treatment and may be caused by the cancer itself or by treatment-related side effects. Even when a child isn’t trying to lose weight, maintaining adequate calories and nutrition can be difficult.
Common treatment-related factors that may affect eating include:
- Mouth or throat sores
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea and vomiting
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Dehydration
- Dry mouth
- Hiccups or heartburn
- Difficulty swallowing
- Pain
- Emotional distress
- Changes in taste or smell
Supporting Nutrition During Treatment
When nutritional challenges arise, the first step is understanding what’s causing them. After discussing your concerns with your child’s medical team, you can work together to identify the root cause, whether it’s treatment side effects, discomfort, or another factor, and develop a plan that meets your child’s individual needs. Some children may also require alternative methods of receiving nutrition during treatment.
After speaking with your child’s care team, these simple approaches at home may help encourage eating and support healthy nutrition:
- Focus on high-calorie, high-protein foods. These foods can help maintain weight, preserve strength, and provide important nutrients during treatment. Consider options such as eggs, peanut butter, cheese, nuts, dried fruit, granola, or protein and nutritional drinks. For additional ideas, the University of Rochester’s Golisano Children’s Hospital provides helpful guidance and recipes for high-calorie, high-protein diets for children HERE.
- Make mealtimes more enjoyable. Eating isn’t only a physical challenge during treatment; it can also be emotional. Creating a relaxed environment and giving your child a sense of control can help reduce stress around meals. You might try serving favorite foods at different times of day, such as breakfast for dinner, making smoothies or milkshakes, offering several small meals or snacks instead of three large meals, or inviting your child to help choose meals or assist with simple food preparation.
- Find strategies that work for your child. Treatment side effects can change from day to day, and what works one week may not work the next. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center offers practical tips for helping children eat during treatment, including ideas for managing appetite changes, food preferences, and treatment-related challenges.
Meet Carter
Since his transplant, Carter’s mom, Laura, has focused on navigating the nutritional challenges that often accompany treatment while learning what works best for her son.
Throughout treatment, Carter experienced many common side effects that made eating difficult, including nausea and vomiting, a poor appetite, changing cravings, dry mouth, and changes in taste. Following his transplant, he also began receiving nutrition through an NG tube. Laura describes managing tube feedings as a full-time job, balancing the roles of caregiver, nurse, and mom while doing everything possible to meet Carter’s needs.
For families facing similar experiences, Laura recommends exploring OLEY.org, a resource that connects families using tube feeding and offers practical information about formulas, supplies, and shared experiences.
Laura also encourages parents to shift their mindset away from achieving the “perfect” balanced diet during treatment. Instead, she believes the priority should be ensuring children get enough calories—even if the foods they eat look different than expected. She recommends following your child’s cravings when appropriate and offering choices whenever possible. “They don’t have much control right now,” she explains, “so giving them choices where you can really matters.”
Above all, Laura encourages families to lean on their child’s nutritionist and medical team for guidance and to connect with other parents, especially those in the same hospital or treatment community, for support and encouragement.
Financial Resources for Meals
Cancer treatment can place significant financial strain on families, making it harder to consistently access nutritious food. If you’re experiencing food insecurity, the following programs may be able to help:
- The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides food benefits for low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5. It is offered in all 50 states and through Indian Health Service (IHS) facilities.
- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides food benefits to low-income families.
- The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) provides free breakfast and lunch at school for children in low-income families.
- The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) provides free meals and snacks to children 18 years and younger at Summer Meals Sites.
- The USDA National Hunger Hotline from Hunger Free America helps people find food assistance resources in their communities
Nutrition during childhood cancer treatment isn’t always easy, and every child’s journey is different. With support from your medical team, practical strategies at home, and encouragement from other families who have walked this path, mealtimes can become a little less overwhelming. For additional nutrition information and healthy living resources, visit the NCCS Healthy Living section on our website.