| A Dietitian's Cancer Story Newsletter: Summer 2002
Summer Greetings from Diana Dyer, MS, RD, author of A Dietitian's Cancer Story. Thanks to all of you who gave such glowing feedback after receiving my first newsletter in May. Hundreds of new people have signed up for future editions of the newsletter. At this time I am planning to send out an Email newsletter quarterly. In between newsletters, remember to also check my web site at http://www.CancerRD.com for other new recipes, Q&A's, and links added since the last newsletter. I would like to share this Chinese proverb with all of you. Sharing my information with you gives me great happiness. Please feel free to share my happiness by forwarding this newsletter to any patients, friends/relative, or colleagues who would find it helpful. Contents: I - CSA Information I have been fortunate
to have both my grown sons home with us this summer, which has led
to LOTS more cooking (both frequency and
volume!). We have enjoyed experimenting with many new and
different varieties of vegetables supplied by a local CSA (Community
Supported Agriculture) farm that we joined for the first time this
year. It is not difficult
at all to consume a minimum of 9 servings of fruits and veggies daily
when the refrigerator is FILLED with them. II - Essiac Tea Information So many people have
asked me (1) what I know about Essiac Tea and (2) if I have used it.
The short answer is "No, I have not used it at any
point in my recovery." From the reading I have done, my opinion is
that the tea is generally safe for cancer patients to take as a
supplement or complement to conventional cancer therapies. However, Special Note: I would
NOT recommend using this supplement as your only cancer therapy. In
addition, I do urge you to tell your oncologist
the names and types of all complementary therapies you are using as
part of your personal *healing recipe*. III - Recipe - Red Lentil Stew Never feel *locked
into* following a recipe such as this to the letter. Feel free to experiment.
To show you what I mean, I am
listing both the original recipe and my own modifications based
on what I had available in the house to make this quickly. My 1 teaspoon olive oil (I used 2 teaspoons) Heat large soup pot
to medium high. Add olive oil and heat garlic and onions until they
are soft (about 2-3 minutes). Add other ingredients and bring to a
boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered
on low heat for ~ 20 minutes until lentils are tender. (Here is the Variation: add about 1/3 cup of dried fruit like golden raisins or cherries. I did this and the slight sweetness provided a delightful occasional taste and texture contrast. I served this with
a large salad made of fresh greens, tomatoes, And avocados, whole grain
bread, and fresh fruit for a complete meal. IV - Research projects funded by the proceeds from my book Many people have
written to ask what type of research projects I have helped to fund
with the proceeds from the sale of my books.
The Diana Dyer Cancer Survivors' Nutrition and Cancer Research
Endowment helps to fund research projects focusing on nutrition
strategies, either during treatment or recovery, to increase the chances A very brief synopsis of the two projects my endowment has helped To fund in 2001 and 2002 follows: (1) Dr. Jennifer Grad, at the University of Miami, Florida, is conducting a Phase I/II clinical trial, testing the safety and efficacy of administering ascorbic acid (vitamin C) with arsenic trioxide in patients with chemo-refractory multiple melanoma (MM). One of the many outcomes that her research will determine is if the concurrent administration of vitamin C along with this particular type of chemotherapy will augment a MM-patient's responsiveness to this cancer therapy. (2) Dr. Kara Kelly,
at Columbia University in New York City, is conducting an observational
study of the antioxidant and oxidative
status of children receiving chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic
leukemia (ALL). One of the many outcomes being measured will
determine if antioxidant and oxidation status as measured in the These are critical
studies that need to be done to help answer the questions most cancer
patients have regarding the potential risks and
benefits of using a variety of antioxidant supplements concurrently with
chemotherapy or radiation therapy. (see my Q&A regarding the use
of antioxidants during therapy for further comments of mine on this
question. http://www.CancerRD.com/FAQs/FAQ37.htm) V - Bladder Cancer - Antioxidant Therapy Clinical Trial Information As mentioned above,
many people have written to me asking if antioxidants will help them
improve their odds of recovering from
various cancers, including bladder cancer. I have now posted extensive
information on my web site (link here to the new FAQ on bladder cancer)
about a current multi-site clinical trial for bladder cancer patients
that The protocol, led by Dr. Donald Lamm at the Urology Department of The Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, AZ, is first randomizing patients into 2 different types of cancer therapy for bladder cancer. Then each of those groups will be randomized into 2 groups that will receive different levels of antioxidants from supplements as additional therapeutic intervention. Differences between response to treatment, including time to recurrence, will be determined. Patients are currently being recruited for this study at many sites around the country. My web site has information to help someone with bladder cancer find a study location (again link to the new FAQ on bladder cancer/antioxidants). This is exactly the
type of clinical trial that needs to be done for all different types
of cancer. I hope many more research of this type is
done studying each of the multiple types of cancer and therapies being
used so that cancer patients (and their health care providers) have
human data on which to make informed decisions regarding the use of VI - AICR's new web site section for cancer survivor information The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) has recently Launched a new section on their web site (http://www.aicr.org/survivor/index.html) with helpful cancer survivor information related to nutrition and exercise. Of particular interest is the new posting of the slides (http://aicr.org/surviveslides.html - site not assessible on 04/05) on nutrition and cancer survival presented at their July 2002 International Research Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer. The text of the presentations is not on-line, but much of the presentations can be gleaned from viewing the interesting slides. AICR has expanded
their mission to include nutritional concerns of cancer survivors
in addition to continuing to support education and research on nutrition
and primary prevention of cancer. The
millions of cancer survivors thank you, AICR! VII - Book Ordering Information Thanks to all who ordered the remaining copies of the 2000 edition of my book at the discounted price. They are now all purchased, and the proceeds will be added to the Diana Dyer Cancer Survivors' Nutrition and Cancer Research Endowment at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in Washington, DC. A copy of the updated
and revised 2002 edition, which I published in
April 2002, can be ordered from any bookstore (the new ISBN is
096672383X), library, Amazon.com, and directly from AICR
by calling 1-800-843-8114. Quantity discounts are available from VIII - Removal from future Email updates from Diana Dyer. I know that life
changes with time. Thus, if you are not interested in receiving
future updates and announcements from me via Email or have other subscription requests, For those of you who choose to remain on this list, be assured that I will never share your name or Email address with anyone. I send my best wishes to all of you for health, healing, and hope! Diana "Information and inspiration for cancer survivors" Proceeds donated to the Diana Dyer Cancer Survivors' |