Finishing cancer treatment can come with its own hurdles for children and their families. Reboot Kids has created a new program to help families who’ve been affected by cancer to navigate an important element of life post-treatment.
Changing food routines
For families going through childhood cancer, the end of treatment can seem like an impossible milestone. Thankfully, advances in medical research mean it’s a landmark that more and more children are reaching.
Often during treatment, everyday worries like eating enough fruit and vegetables fall down the list of priorities. With everything focused on survival, food routines can go out the window.
Some families have found that their children struggle to return to their previous eating habits even after treatment has finished. Kids may have undergone toxic therapies, or experienced side effects that made swallowing food difficult. Often, a family's behaviour can change surrounding food whilst a child is going through cancer, with an increased reliance on convenience meals and more treats for kids. These factors can mean children’s eating preferences change.
Unfortunately, cancer survivors can be at a higher risk of lasting effects from their cancer treatment. They have an increased chance of developing many long-term illnesses, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis. This means a balanced diet is vitally important to safeguard their future health.
Read more: Helping survivors thrive.