Cancer Covered

Supporting Patients with Food Insecurity

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A cancer diagnosis is more than physical; it requires sufficient nourishment to support the body through treatment and recovery. In this episode, Clinical Dietician Maddi Mleziva joins Oncologist Dr. David Groteluschen Gro to discuss the alarming rate of food insecurity among cancer patients and the collaborative strategies the care team uses to ensure access to vital nutrition.

“ Your calorie needs increase pretty significantly with treatment, and that goes in part with the cachexia. Your cells are eating up calories a lot faster because the cancer cells are eating up calories.” – Maddi Mleziva

On this episode of Cancer Covered, you’ll learn:

  • The Alarming Reality: Why cancer patients face a significantly higher risk of food insecurity (up to 55%), driven by the staggering economic and social burdens, including the high cost of treatment and potential loss of income.
  • The Nutritional Impact on Treatment: How lack of consistent, nutritious food impairs a patient’s ability to tolerate and recover from treatment, increasing the risk of chemotherapy delays and life-threatening infections due to severe weight loss, or cachexia.
  • Calories Over Perfection: The clinical approach to maximizing a patient’s caloric intake—even with less nutritionally ideal foods like ice cream—when nausea and loss of appetite make eating a challenge, and the importance of families reducing pressure on patients to eat.
  • The Power of Collaboration: How the oncology team—physicians, dieticians, and social workers—collaborate to identify high-risk patients and provide expert, often free, dietary counseling and support, including managing specialized nutritional needs like feeding tubes.
  • Essential Community Resources: A detailed look at the local resources available in Northeast Wisconsin, including food pantries, government aid like SNAP/EBT, Meals on Wheels, and holiday meal programs, all designed to alleviate the emotional and financial burden of food insecurity.

    • We’ve Got Cancer…Covered.

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