目的：為探討癌患對於食物禁忌的程度與那些因素有關聯，並且鼓勵醫事人員應從病患觀點，瞭解癌患對於食物禁忌的動機與觀念，加強溝通管道，以引導病患接受正確知識，避免不當的飲食影響疾病與治療。材料與方法：從1997年11月1日至1999年10月31日止，於林口長庚醫學中心放射腫瘤科接受放射線治療的癌患，共收案872位。對象是來自全台各地的癌症病患，收案採自擬結構式問卷，由放射腫瘤科資深護理師協助個案，依真實原意填寫問卷內容。問卷填寫共二次，第一次於放療第一週填寫，第二次乃於治療結束後六個月內填寫。結果：24位（2.8%）個案於罹患癌症前有食物禁忌，而罹患癌症後卻有651位（74.7%）個案有食物禁忌，且禁忌的食物大多為數種以上。325位（37.3%）個案認為補充營養會加速腫瘤生長，另有140位（16.1%）個案認為腫瘤是由共同進食而傳染。由病患的人口學資料與其社會背景，對於營養是否會使癌症長的更快、共同生活進食是否會傳染癌症，以及對肉類、青菜、水果有毒的看法等，於統計學上並無特定對象與相關（P > 0.05），只有年齡60歲以上者認為肉類是有毒的較為關聯性（P < 0.05）。討論：放射治療中癌患雖接受營養師與護理人員的均衡營養指導衛教，但他們仍是以自己與親友的飲食觀為主。若病患於接受放射治療時，未能適當補充營養，則可能因為體重減輕、抵抗力降低或因副作用的不適而中斷治療，則致使可能治癒的機會受到影響。因此醫事人員更應積極加強對病患的食物禁忌澄清說明。

Purpose : to evaluate factors related to tabooed foods in cancer patients and to study the motivation and concept of tabooed foods from patients?view point so that patients may accept correct knowledge about diet control and nutritional support via a positive communication skill. Materials and Methods : From November of 1997 to October of 1999, data from 872 irradiated cancer patients were collected at Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Lin-Kou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Patients were requested to answer a series of questions from well-designed questionnaire. This was done twice , namely, first week at the beginning and 6 months after the entire course of radiotherapy. Results : prior to cancer attack, 24 cases (2.8%) had no tabooed food while 651 cases (74.7%) had this taboo after experiencing malignancy. Tabooed food were usually of several kinds. Of these, 325 cases (37.3%) considered that nutritional supplements may help the growing of tumor masses while 140 cases (16.1%) suspected that cancer is communicable via taking food together with one another. From patients unable to prove a statistically significant correlation between a special subset of patients and the development of above-mentioned misconcepts toward the effect of certain food intake on the growing of malignant tumors (p > 0.05). However, patients with age above 60 year old regarded that meats were toxic to normal human body and related to cancer development (p < 0.05). Discussion : During radiotherapy, each patient received nutrition education from dietitian and nursing staff concerning balanced diets. Yet, patients may still adopt their own view point of diet control. The chance for a curative attempt of management may be compromised provided that patients failed to receive adequate nutritional support during radiotherapy which may cause loss of body weight, impairment of general immunity or toxicity related interruption of treatment. Health professionals should, therefore, try their best to offer patients accurate knowledge of nutrition and to clarify the inappropriate taboos of foods.