How I Manage Food Cravings With Type 2 Diabetes and Cancer

After getting my A1C under control, I lost weight and was doing well. Imagine how happy I was to have lost almost 70 pounds. But recently, I developed uncontrollable cravings for sweets and bread.

Dealing with cancer in addition to T2D

When my cravings skyrocketed, I seriously thought it was just me. Maybe it was my cancer diagnosis, subsequent surgeries, and therapy. To give you a little background, I was diagnosed with bilateral renal cell carcinoma. I had a partial nephrectomy on my left kidney, and a full nephrectomy on the right one.

Everything was going well after these surgeries until I went back for my follow-up visit after the second surgery. It turned out that my cancer was stage 3, grade 4, meaning the cancer cells were aggressive, so I needed to start immunotherapy treatment.

Immunotherapy and food cravings

I started Keytruda every 6 weeks for 9 months. Now, I'm on my 4th this month. When the food cravings began, I thought perhaps I was having some mental block where I felt like I'd cheated death, so why shouldn't I get some pleasure from food? It wasn't until I read in a support group that others experienced food cravings.

Once I heard from others who also experienced food cravings, I began researching. There is growing evidence of an association between cancer and certain types of altered eating behaviors, including food cravings.¹

Then, I found out that some people on immunotherapy noticed strange cravings they never had before. To highlight how this may be a valid concern, some people shared that once they stopped treatment, the cravings stopped. When they had to restart treatment, the desire for these foods also returned.

Emotional eating comes into play

I may not be that far off attaching emotions to my sudden change in food habits, either. Emotional eating is well-documented and defined as eating to suppress or soothe emotions, such as stress, fear, or boredom. With emotional eating, you might automatically reach for a craving or treat whenever you're mad or stressed without thinking about it.²

It was difficult enough trying to eat properly without having extra cravings. I find it very hard to say no to sweets now. And bread? I've even started making sourdough as a hobby. It has to be better for me than store-bought bread, but still, there are better choices for my blood sugar.

How I fight food cravings

There are some tips or strategies I can try to fight the food cravings. When it comes to bread, I can substitute whole wheat bread for white bread. I also am less inclined to overeat if I'm well-hydrated, so making sure I drink enough water daily can help. Other strategies to be mindful of emotional eating include:²

• Keep a food journal by writing down what you eat and how you feel.
• Manage stress with activities like breathing, listening to music, walking, or yoga.

I won't say I'm not struggling. But at least knowing that there's a reason behind some of this helps my mentality more. I don't feel like such a failure knowing it may not be entirely my fault and there are other factors involved.