KUCHING: A cancer diagnosis is different for everyone so there is no fixed diet plan or ‘forbidden’ food for certain types of cancer.
Speaking at a talk on nutrition and diet for cancer patients organised by the Sarawak branch of National Cancer Society Malaysia, dietitian Karene Lee Ing Ing said the recommended diet is individualised.
“If anyone tells you what to eat and drink, you should question their qualification or ask them for scientific verification,” she said, referring to how some well-meaning people will produce ‘tips’ that have been verbally circulated but are otherwise unverifiable.
She also advised those about to undergo treatment to ask to see the hospital’s dietitian.
Lee, who holds a diploma in nursing and degree in dietetics from Universiti Sains Malaysia, was speaking to around 40 participants yesterday at the local branch of the National Cancer Society.
Her talk included a rundown on basic nutrition, how to maintain optimum nutrition while undergoing treatment, and an emphasis on eating whatever stays down, even if it it something not traditionally seen as healthy food.
“If the ‘healthy’ food doesn’t go down, eat whatever that does, especially if that’s the only thing you can eat,” said Lee, who went on to give tips on keeping a high calorie and high protein intake during treatment.
Lee began her career at Loh Guan Lye Specialist Centre in Penang as a registered nurse, before returning to Sarawak to work at Normah Medical Specialist Centre as a clinical dietician.
She served as a sports dietitian at the Sarawak satellite centre of the National Sports Institute for a year, and then worked as a senior sales executive and dietician at Pfizer (M) Sdn Bhd in Kuching.
Lee is currently a private practitioner in dietetics.