Download or Print PDF

Lowered immunity

Cancer and some treatments (such as chemotherapy and stem cell transplants) can reduce your white blood cell level, making it harder for your body to fight infections. If this happens, you will need to take care preparing and storing food because you are more likely to get foodborne illnesses.

General precautions

Wash your hands and knives, cutting boards and food preparation areas thoroughly with hot soapy water before and after cooking.
Take extra care when eating out. Where possible, ask for meals to be made fresh and avoid pre-prepared foods that have been sitting for unknown periods of time.

Make safer food choices

Food type	Safe action	Precautions to take
chicken	cook thoroughly thaw in refrigerator or microwave and cook immediately	refrigerate leftover cooked chicken immediately – don’t let it cool on the benchtop eat within 24 hours; reheat until steaming hot don’t refreeze raw chicken after defrosting don’t buy ready-to-eat chicken
meat	cook thoroughly thaw in refrigerator or microwave	refrigerate leftover cooked meat immediately – don’t let it cool on the benchtop eat within 24 hours; reheat until steaming hot don’t refreeze raw meat after defrosting
seafood	cook thoroughly buy fresh seafood	refrigerate leftover seafood immediately, and eat within 24 hours avoid raw seafood (e.g. oysters, sushi) and ready-to-eat peeled prawns don’t buy ready-to-eat smoked seafood
cold meats	store homecooked cold meats in fridge	avoid ready-to-eat cold meats from the deli counter and packaged, sliced ready-to-eat cold meats
sandwiches	eat freshly made	avoid pre-made sandwiches
salad, fruit and vegetables	wash thoroughly before preparing	refrigerate leftovers immediately, and eat within 24 hours avoid ready-to-eat or pre-packaged deli salads (including pre-cut fruit salads and roast vegetables) pick unblemished fruit and vegetables
eggs	keep uncracked, clean eggs in fridge cook until yolks and whites are solid	avoid cracked, dirty and raw eggs avoid food containing raw eggs (e.g. homemade mayonnaise, raw cake mix and biscuit dough)
cheese and other dairy products	eat hard or processed cheese store cheese and pasteurised dairy products in fridge	avoid soft, semisoft and surfaceripened cheeses (e.g. camembert, brie, ricotta, feta, blue) avoid unpasteurised dairy products
packaged food	eat within use-by dates	store unused perishable food in fridge in clean, sealed containers, and use within 24 hours of opening
ice-cream	keep frozen	avoid soft serve ice-cream

→ READ MORE: Managing loss of appetite

Video: How to eat well after a cancer diagnosis

Watch this video to learn why eating well is so important after a cancer diagnosis, and what you can do to maintain a healthy diet.

Podcast for people affected by cancer

Listen now

Key resource

Download a PDF booklet on this topic.

Nutrition for People Living with Cancer

Download PDF600kB

More resources

Understanding Chemotherapy Download PDF579kB
Understanding Surgery Download PDF541kB

This information was last reviewed in July 2022. View who reviewed this content.

Jacqueline Baker, Senior Oncology Dietitian, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Lauren Atkins, Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian, OnCore Nutrition, VIC; Dr Tsien Fua, Head and Neck Radiation Oncology Specialist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Rosemerry Hodgkin, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Clare Hughes, Manager, Nutrition Unit, Cancer Council NSW; John Spurr, Consumer; Emma Vale, Senior Dietitian, GenesisCare, SA; David Wood, Consumer.

View the Cancer Council NSW editorial policy.