Nutritional Issues and Self-care Measures Adopted by Cancer Patients Attending a University Hospital in Turkey

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the nutritional status of cancer patients and the self-care measures they adopted as a response to nutritional problems. METHODS: This descriptive study included seventy cancer patients staying in the oncology and internal disease clinics of a university hospital in Turkey. Data were collected using a questionnaire with 29 questions. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 40.2 ± 1.82 years. Approximately, 62.9% of the patients ate only half of the meals offered to them, 65.7% experienced weight loss, and 45.7% had difficulty eating their meals on their own. Moreover, 47.1% of the patients received nutritional support and nutritional problems were observed in 71.4% of the patients; 80% were unable to eat hospital food, 54.3% had an eating disorder related to a special diet, 30% suffered from loss of appetite, 27% had nausea, and 14.3% had difficulty swallowing. Furthermore, 48.5% of patients responded that they ate home-cooked food or ordered food from outside when questioned about the self-care measures taken to avoid the aforementioned nutritional problems. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the cancer patients had serious nutritional problems and ate home-cooked food and used nutritional supplements to overcome these problems. Oncology nurses are responsible for evaluating the nutritional status of cancer patients and eliminating nutritional problems.