Changes in Eating Habits in Breast Cancer Patients

INTRODUCTION: Receiving a cancer diagnosis is an important moment in anyone’s life. Consequently, many patients are prepared to change their everyday habits and begin to look for advice from a wide range of sources. Women with breast cancer are particularly motivated and committed to making changes to their lifestyle and diet. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the changes in nutritional and other lifestyle habits following breast cancer diagnosis in Slovenia. A further goal was to estimate the proportion of breast cancer patients using dietary supplements and alternative diets or ascertain their desire to attend a consultation with a dietician. METHODS: A link to an online questionnaire was sent to the email addresses of members of Europa Donna and posted on their website (www.europadonna-zdruzenje.si) and Facebook page. RESULTS: A total of 102 patients were included in the study. We found that a majority of breast cancer patients changed their eating habits (68.6%) and/or physical activity level (53.9%) following diagnosis. On average, they increased their fruit and vegetable intake and reduced their intake of sugar, red meat and fat. Alternative diets were used by 29.4% of patients, with a high proportion of patients (75.5%) consuming dietary supplements. More than a half of the patients (69.6%) expressed a desire for a consultation with a dietician. CONCLUSIONS: Nutritional support during cancer treatment is part of medical treatment and has an important role to play in secondary and tertiary cancer prevention activities. More dieticians should therefore be incorporated into the health system.