Focus on favorite foods

If there's a dish that spurs your family member's appetite, don't worry about whether it's what she should be eating. This isn't the time to be overly concerned about fat, cholesterol, or other nutritional issues. Think about easy-to-eat snack foods that she's liked in the past, even during her childhood. Muffins, pudding, ice cream, cheese and crackers, and peanut butter are often popular with cancer patients. One caveat, though: during periods of extreme nausea and vomiting, when nothing seems to tempt her, you might want to avoid serving her favorites. Otherwise something she really likes may become associated in her mind with nausea, removing another key dish from the list.