Introduction. Cancer is the second cause of death, after cardiovascular diseases, among Polish people. Many authors claim that the unhygienic lifestyle as well as improper diet can lead to cancer. Aim. Assessment of diets among cancer patients in regards to socio-demographic factors. Material and methods. The research was conducted on the group of 100 cancer patients. A diagnostic poll method a survey technique was used when conducting this study. Selected questions from the Health Behavior Inventory (HBI) by Zygfryd Juczyński belonging to the Proper Eating Habits (PEH) category were used. The authorial survey assessing regularity of nutrition among cancer patients was used, as well. STATISTICA 12 and Microsoft Office Excel were used to analyze the gathered data. Statistical significance of p < 0,05 was assumed which indicated statistically important differences or correlations. Results. Most of the surveyed (53%) consumed food 3–4 times a day. 35% of the surveyed ate five meals a day as recommended by the HBI. The survey did not show any correlation between the number of meals per day and socio-demographic factors, type of cancer, time of diagnosis and illness duration. In general assessment the surveyed got an average score regarding the Proper Eating Habits category (3.36). Avoidance of salt (3.44), eating a lot of fruit and vegetables (3.41) and focusing on the proper diet (3.38) were the best proper eating habits cultivated by the surveyed. Conclusions. Despite the widespread belief that taking care of one’s health is important, people’s with cancer declarations regarding their own health do not correlate with the health practices that should be undertaken by them.

Key words: nutrition, diet, cancer, lifestyle, health behavior.