What to Eat During Cancer Treatment: 100 Great-Tasting, Family-Friendly Recipes to Help You Cope [Paperback]

Jeanne Besser (Author), Kristina Ratley (Author), Sheri Knecht (Author), Michele Szafranski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2009

This cookbook contains 100 fast, flavorful recipes to help both patient and caregiver prepare satisfying meals to combat some of the side effects of treatment. Recipes are organized by side effects and include Brie and Apple Grilled Cheese to deal with nausea, Lemon Egg-Drop Soup for diarrhea, Blueberry-Peach Crisp for constipation, a Sherbet Shake for sore mouth, and Honey-Teriyaki Salmon for taste alterations.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Author and Atlanta-based food columnist Besser (The First Book of Baking, The Great American Eat-Right Cookbook) teams up with three registered dieticians to create this handy reference guide for cancer patients and caregivers. More than 100 recipes are included, classified by the side effects they help abate-nausea, weight loss, taste alterations, digestive issues, difficulty swallowing and others (most dishes apply to multiple symptoms). Besser emphasizes the familiar and comforting (chicken noodle soup, shepherd's pie, tuna melts, mac and cheese), but dozens of suggestions for each symptom ensure patients will find something satisfying. A simple Honey-Teriyaki Salmon may jolt taste buds out of a funk; Rosemary Beef with Shallot Cream provides valuable protein and nutrients for the underweight, while a lush, creamy roasted cauliflower soup soothes a sore mouth. Each recipe is written clearly, with nutritional information as well as suggestions for substitutions and leftovers (extra mashed potatoes from Mashed Potato-Chicken Patties? Use them in a Shepherd's Pie). Besser closes with thoughtful ideas for a portable survival kit, including drinks, crave-busting snacks and tips for dining out. Approved by the American Cancer Society, this collection serves as a welcome reference and comfort for those living with illness.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Gold Recipient, Mom's Choice Awards 2010, Adult Books: Cooking, Food & Wine

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Product Details

• Paperback: 158 pages
• Publisher: American Cancer Society; 1 edition (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1604430052
• ISBN-13: 978-1604430059
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Aging > Cancer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely helpful both professionally and personally!!!, November 1, 2009

By 

Amy Larocca - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What to Eat During Cancer Treatment: 100 Great-Tasting, Family-Friendly Recipes to Help You Cope (Paperback)

I am a speech pathologist in an acute rehabilitation hospital and I would greatly recommend this cookbook. I work with patients who have a variety of medical issues, but recently we've seen an increase the number of patients with brain tumors, or with a history of cancer. Because I work with the patient's swallowing safety I often discuss their nutrition and eating habits. I had one patient in particular whose sense of smell and taste had been altered due to their chemo treatment a year prior and he had been losing weight steadily since then. I got in contact with a dietitian with the American Cancer Society who referred me to this book. I bought it immediately because I knew it answered many questions that I had been asked by patients in the past and it also gave such great suggestions for different side effects including decreased taste sensation. I showed this recipe book to that patient and his wife and made a copy of one of the recipes (The Blueberry-Peach Crisp) for them to try. The wife made it and brought it in for the patient the next day. His wife altered it as the book suggested with increased cinnamon and he was able to taste it and enjoyed it. The patient's wife ordered this book that night.

On a more personal note, my father went through chemo and radiation and I have seen first hand how difficult it is for the patient and the caregiver to manage eating and maintaining nutrition while undergoing such a harsh treatment which takes away any natural want/yearn for food. I searched many resources at that time to attempt to help him, but nothing I found was organized in such a useful fashion as this cookbook. This book is organized into sections of suggested recipes for the various side effects that the patient may be experiencing including: nausea, diarrhea, constipation, soar mouth/swallowing deficits, taste alterations and unintentional weight loss. It also gives suggestions for dining out and a list of kitchen staples with a variety of foods to keep in your pantry to help prepare little snacks or full meals depending on the patient's wants.

As you can tell, I can't say enough about this book. It has been a great resource for me professionally and personally (My father now has a copy himself) and I definitely recommend it for people during treatment or for anyone continuing to deal with any of the symptoms after treatment. You will find not only the recipes helpful, but the added nutritional information and recommendations for aiding nutrition during/after treatment are priceless! This cookbook is truly fantastic!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cancer cook book, November 5, 2009

By 

C. Wong "ShopLikeAMadWoman" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What to Eat During Cancer Treatment: 100 Great-Tasting, Family-Friendly Recipes to Help You Cope (Paperback)

This book was a godsend. Nothing tasted right. This book helped find "tasty" alternatives and provided an understanding of how to cope.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bonnie, July 5, 2011

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B. Grower - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What to Eat During Cancer Treatment: 100 Great-Tasting, Family-Friendly Recipes to Help You Cope (Paperback)

What a disappointment this book was! The recipes are loaded with sugar. Sugar feeds cancer! Heck, they even use glucose when doing PET scans because the glucose (sugar) is like a magnet to cancer. In addition to all the sugar, there is a lot of dairy used in the recipes. Dairy is bad because 85% of milk protein is casein and the substance is also found in yogurt. Casein promotes cancer growth and the pre-cancer cell clusters called foci. Casein is not a carcinogen, rather it encourages or feeds cancer or pre cancerous foci cells. Consuming even moderate amounts of milk and cheese will stimulate any cancer cells that may be latent in your body.
Do the recipes look yummy? Absolutely! It is laid out well in that it breaks recipes down according to symptoms. A nice feature and the reason I bought the book. But with all the sugar and dairy, it would be hard to ever beat cancer. The American Cancer Society should be ashamed of themselves!