How can I find information on nutrition during cancer?

First, there is no one right way to eat during cancer.  Second, a healthy diet is a healthy diet, whether you have cancer, heart disease or diabetes. Everyone agrees that if you can cut out or reduce the following, your overall health can improve:

  • Red Meat
  • Sugar
  • Dairy
  • Processed Foods

Beyond these basics, the range of opinions is  wide and diverse. There are as many self-proclaimed experts as there are actual experts. When you decide to make some nutritional changes,  there is a continuum that range from simple to very complex.

The nutrition classes that we teach here are from The Cancer Project. Their diet is vegan - no meat, eggs, or dairy. Recipes can be found at their website The Cancer Project

Perhaps the most drastic change you can make is to eat a  macrobiotic diet. This approach is well-researched but is also a very difficult lifestyle adjustment. Visit the website of the founder of this movement, Kushi Institute to find out details on their theory and recipes. There are several people in our area who have had training at the Kushi institute and now cook macrobiotic for a living. You can reach them at:

Francoise Roland,  216/371-3222, Cleveland Heights
 Click here for his class schedule

Janet Vitt,  330/467-6739, Sagamore Hills

A non-profit organization that is well-respected for nutrition information is The American Institute for Cancer Research.

Finally, remember that there is a time and a place for “comfort foods” when you are dealing with or recovering from surgery and other treatments. Doctors are concerned about patients with cancer who lose weight because they have altered tastes, a lack of appetite, difficulty swallowing or chewing. Our participants have given us the suggestion that you shouldn’t use your absolute favorite comfort foods because they will forever be linked in your mind and memory with the chemotherapy experience. That is, if you still want to like tapioca pudding when this is all over, don’t use it to soothe your sore mouth now!

We have literature in the library that addresses all of these concerns - don't hesitate to call or stop in.