The Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Unit deals with the nutritional problems that may affect people with cancer. Objectives of the Unit are:
- the treatment and prevention of malnutrition in the chemo / radio-therapy patient, in order to optimize cancer care and improve quality of life;
- the prevention and treatment of obesity as a risk factor for relapse.
Services are provided to both outpatient and inpatient patients and include the assessment of nutritional status, the drafting of a counseling-based diet / rehabilitation program, as well as enteral and parenteral nutrition programs, with related monitoring during hospitalization and at home, in collaboration with the relevant local health authority (ULSS).
The Unit is actively involved in the simultaneous Cure outpatient clinic dedicated to patients in advanced stages of chemotherapy treatment. In the clinic, the doctor of the Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Unit works alongside the oncologist, palliative doctor and psychologist with the aim to identify the patient’s care needs early on, including nutritional needs, and possibly launch specific support paths outside the hospital, in particular for artificial nutrition.
The dietetic and clinical nutrition service operates according to the guidelines of the Italian Society of Artificial Nutrition and Metabolism (SINPE) and the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN).
