What's good to eat

When you are diagnosed with cancer, food and nutrition take on a new meaning in your life. For many, taste changes, lack of appetite, nausea, dry mouth and even mouth sores make it difficult to eat during treatment. As one transitions beyond treatment, nutrition becomes important to help heal and maintain a healthy weight. There are multiple books and cookbooks available. Here are a couple that have been recommended by our patients.

The Back in the Swing Cookbook: Recipes for Eating and Living Well Every Day After Breast Cancer

By Barbara Unell and Judith Fertig
2012. Andrews McMeel Publishing, Kansas City, MO

This book is a good resource for those completing breast cancer treatment. In addition to 150 recipes, helpful tips for survivors on nutrition, exercise, relaxation and positive emotions are scattered throughout the book. The recipes are easy to read and follow. The ingredients are highlighted making it easy to prepare your grocery list. Nutrition information is provided with each recipe. One of the best things about this book is they start with dessert first, as it should be.

The Cancer Fighting Kitchen, 2nd edition

By Rebecca Katz and Mat Edelson
2017. 10 Speed Press, Berkeley, CA

Ms. Katz has a master’s degree in nutrition and has worked with nutritionists, oncologists and cancer patients to create cookbooks that are resources for patients. In The Cancer Fighting Kitchen, 2nd edition, she has provided 150 healthy and appealing recipes. The book is a wonderful resource of foods and tips to help with eating while going through therapy. There is a section on side effects in which she recommends recipes to help resolve them. The recipes are designed to help with taste alterations that are experienced during therapy. They are also designed to be easy to prepare and cook and to be storable for later consumption. This is a wonderful resource for anyone’s kitchen

This article is from the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of Life to the Fullest, the newsletter from the Swedish Cancer Institute (SCI) dedicated to those with cancer, cancer survivors, and their family members and caregivers.