OBJECTIVES: To provide strategies to manage nutrition in patients with head and neck cancer. DATA SOURCES: Empirical articles, reviews, books, and anecdotal evidence. CONCLUSION: Major nutrition issues include sore mouth/throat, difficulty swallowing, taste changes, dry mouth/thick saliva, constipation, nausea/vomiting, and decreased appetite. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nurses are one of the main providers for patients with head and neck cancer and may be the first to recognize a nutritional issue. The oncology dietitian and nurse work closely together to manage the nutritional care of the patient. Copyright © 2009 by Elsevier Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]