Hematologist and oncologist Dr. Ram Kancherla serves Hudson Valley Cancer Center as managing partner, a role that involves performing fiscal and administrative functions. Ram Kancherla, MD, has been treating cancer patients for more than 25 years, providing them with compassionate care and professional medical guidance, especially on treatment options and nutrition.

The process of nutrition encompasses taking in food and the body’s use of the food to enable growth and maintain health. For cancer patients undergoing treatment, good nutrition is important for the body to maintain energy levels, muscle mass, and body weight.

Weight loss is almost inevitable during cancer treatment. This may contribute to loss of physical energy and muscle mass. Good nutrition helps the cancer patient maintain their energy level and stamina to keep them physically active and strong while undergoing treatment.

Some cancer treatment options compromise the patient’s immune system. For instance, chemotherapy is known to attack not only cancer cells, but also healthy cells. A good diet of sufficient calories and nutrients helps to maintain weight and increases the immune system’s capability to fight cancer cells.

A study by the National Cancer Institute concluded that the effects of good nutrition continue through survivorship. The study added that maintaining a healthy lifestyle after treatment, a combination of a good diet and exercise, boosts the patient’s quality of life and tends to lengthen life span.