• To recognise the importance of promoting healthy lifestyle changes following cancer treatment
• To understand the motivating factors and barriers to making dietary changes that colorectal cancer survivors may experience
• To identify approaches you could use in your practice to improve the dietary advice and guidance provided to patients
The number of colorectal cancer survivors in the UK is increasing. Healthier diets can improve prognosis for survivors, but research indicates that they are dissatisfied with the dietary advice they receive. This article details a literature review that explored colorectal cancer survivors’ perceptions of dietary advice. Thematic analysis of the data identified five main themes: dissatisfaction with dietary advice; motivating factors for making dietary changes; barriers to dietary changes; sources and formats of dietary information; and the impact of symptoms caused by treatment and dietary changes. The authors conclude that individualised dietary advice and nurse-facilitated peer support sessions could support person-centred holistic care for colorectal cancer survivors. Nurses may require additional training from dietitians and experienced nurse specialists to deliver this care.
Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2021.e1799
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Cox N, Andrewes T (2021) Understanding colorectal cancer survivors’ perceptions of dietary advice: a literature review. Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2021.e1799
Published online: 13 September 2021
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