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Oesophageal cancer: Managing swallowing difficulties

Published: 04/08/2021
Last edited: 16/12/2022

Code: 01062

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Most people with oesophageal cancer find that they have difficulty swallowing at some time. This will vary from person to person and will depend on the type and position of the tumour, how advanced the disease is and the treatment you have.

Some people may be offered a feeding tube or a stent, if swallowing becomes very difficult. You will be given individualised advice if this applies to you.

It is not unusual for your ability to swallow to fluctuate from day to day, month to month and treatment to treatment. This advice sheet aims to provide you with enough information to help you to cope with the variation in your ability to swallow.

Some solid foods when chewed well will be easier to swallow than others. For example, cheese will ‘melt’ when chewed but bread will form a sticky lump. Therefore, you may be able to eat the solid version of one food but not another.

To help we would suggest that you:

take your time and eat slowly
take small mouthfuls
chew your food as thoroughly as possible
have a drink at hand.

Be sensible, if you cannot manage a certain food avoid it until your swallowing improves and if in doubt spit it out!

Suitable foods

The following tables will help you to choose foods that are suitable for you. Try to eat as wide a variety as possible.

Please note you may be asked to avoid certain foods when you are undergoing chemotherapy.

Information about fortifying your food can be found in the Macmillan Cancer Support booklets:

The Building-Up Diet
Eating Problems and Cancer
Recipes from Macmillan Cancer Support.

These are available from your dietitian or www.macmillan.org.uk

Food	Foods to take care with	Normal and soft foods à Easy to swallow foods and liquids
Meat	Tough, gristly or big cuts of meat Hard, crispy meat such as chops, steak and bacon Sausages and burgers	Tender cuts of meat Finely minced or chopped meats Casseroles or stew Have with gravy or sauce	Pastes and pate Meat pureed with plenty of gravy or sauce	Blended meat-based soups
Fish	Bony fish Crumbed and battered fish Shellfish such as mussels, oysters, cockles and winkles Calamari, squid and octopus	Fish fillets Poached, steamed and boil in the bag fish with sauce/butter Prawns Fish cakes or crumbed fish with sauce Fish pie with extra sauce	Finely flaked fish with sauce Fish mousse and pate Taramasalata Chopped shellfish with mayonnaise, such as dressed crab and prawn cocktail	Blended fish/seafood-based soups
Eggs	Fried eggs Hard boiled eggs	Hard-boiled egg mashed with mayonnaise, butter and salad cream Scrambled Softly poached Soft boiled Souffle Lightly cooked omelette	Egg custard	Thin egg custard
Cheese	Chunks of hard cheese Cheese rind such as brie and camembert Cheese on toast	Grated hard cheese Cottage cheese	Cream cheese Cheese spread Soft cheeses	Cheese sauce
Bread and bakery products	Fresh bread Crusty bread Hard pastry Bagels and hot cross buns Doughnut Yorkshire pudding Flapjack and brownies Biscuits with nuts and dried fruit	Well-buttered toast, day old bread and wholemeal bread Dunk bread into soups and sauces Croissants Soft cakes, muffins and sponge cake Cookies, shortbread and biscuits	Bread crumbled into soups and sauces Dunked biscuits Bread sauce Meringues
Breakfast cereals	Cereals with added fruit and/or nuts Coarse cereals such as muesli, oat crunch cereal, puffed wheat, shredded wheat and all bran	All other cereals Add lots of milk to soften if necessary	Porridge, hot oat cereals such as Ready Brek, Oat So Simple Weetabix and Oatibix	Thin, smooth porridge Rice pudding made with flaked rice
Potatoes, rice and pasta	Crispy chips Roast potatoes Potato skins	Well cooked pasta and rice Mashed potato The inside of a jacket potato Cous cous	Smooth, creamed potato Well cooked pasta with sauce, such as macaroni cheese Tinned spaghetti in sauce	Potato, rice or pasta blended into soups
Vegetables	Chunks of raw or stringy vegetables Lightly steamed, boiled or microwaved vegetables	Well cooked vegetables Finely grated raw vegetables Baked beans and other pulses	Puree or mashed vegetables such as parsnip, swede, carrots, butternut squash Creamed spinach Mushy peas Dahl Pease pudding Houmous Guacamole Vegetable pate	Vegetable juice Creamed vegetable soup Vegetable broth Smooth lentil soup Blended vegetable soups
Fruit	Hard fruit such as unripe pears, melon or apple Dried fruit Fibrous, pithy fruit such as, pineapple or citrus fruit	Soft peeled fruit Tinned fruit Stewed fruit	Mashed fruit Puree fruit	Fruit juice Fruit smoothies Fruit coulis
Puddings	Hard pastry Puddings with dried fruit and nuts	Milk puddings Yoghurt with lumps of fruit Jelly Sponge puddings and moist cake Ice cream or sorbet with added fruit/chocolate Fruit crumble Trifle Cheesecake Tiramisu	See fruit section, serve with custard, ice cream or double cream Smooth yoghurt/ fromage frais Smooth milk puddings such as semolina and custard Mousse, creme caramel, whips Meringue with cream	Ice cream Thin custard Cream See fruit section Smooth sorbet Yoghurt drinks
Other	Nuts and seeds Sweets such as boiled sweets, jellies, gums, toffees which you may accidentally swallow Chocolate with fruit/nuts	Biscuits and crackers Crisps/pretzels Chocolate	Smooth peanut butter Ritz and Tuc biscuits Dunked biscuits Wotsits, Skips, Quavers and cheese puffs Prawn Crackers	Chocolate spread, smooth jam, marmalade, preserves honey, golden syrup Mayonnaise, salad cream, dressings Sauces Butter, margarine and oils
Drinks				All squashes and soft drinks Alcohol (consult your doctor) Milk/milkshakes Complan/ Meritene Shake Prescribable supplement drinks Strained Cup a Soup, Meritene soup or Complan soup Smoothies Yogurt drinks Ovaltine Hot chocolate Horlicks Milky coffee

Contact us

Please contact the service though our Central Appointments Team:

0300 123 0861
kcht.centralisedappointmentteam@nhs.net

Monday to Friday, 9am to 3pm

Go to service page

This information should only be followed on the advice of a healthcare professional.

Do you have feedback about our health services?

0800 030 4550
Text 07899 903499
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4.30pm
kentchft.PALS@nhs.net
kentcht.nhs.uk/PALS

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust
Trinity House, 110-120 Upper Pemberton
Ashford
Kent
TN25 4AZ

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Oesophageal cancer: Managing swallowing difficulties

Suitable foods

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