Customer Reviews

What to Eat if You Have Cancer (revised): Healing Foods that Boost Your Immune System

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this book for my sister in January of 2000, two days after she was diagnosed with Stage 4 small-cell lung cancer. She began chemotherapy treatments the next week, and simultaneously begin eating exclusively through the plan in this book. Throughout the course of her treatments which have just ended this past month (May 2000) she never once got even the least bit nauseated and her energy level allowed her to remain active, missing only three days of work the entire course of treatment. Her blood levels remained consistently "at the high end of normal", she was never hospitalized nor required blood transfusions. She never lost her appetite,in fact, she eats what seems to be continually, and she lost approximately 20-lbs, which was due to better eating habits following the plan in this book. She ever once wavered from the plan in this book, everything was done to precision. Her last oncology visit, a week ago today, showed the cancer in two places had disappeared. The tumor in her lung had shrunk from 8 centimeters to 3. She begins radiation next week, which her oncologist says "we are going to shrink the remnants of the tumor into nothing but scar tissue". Her doctors and staff are amazed at the way she has accepted the chemo & how she has totally turned this around, which she attributes to her strong faith in God, strong family support and this book that provided the tool of nutrition. She has never looked more radiant and healthy in all her "50-something" years. What began as a very dismal prognosis, now has her doctors constantly quizzing her about how she has stayed in such marvelous condition. Full remission is on the horizon, and we owe alot of it to this book. It was a God-send, and I highly recommend it.

Having had the opportunity to hear Daniella Chase talk about the value of soy proteins and phytochemicals, as well as a variety of other topics, I can emphasize that the book doesn't approach the subject from a touchy feely or "eat what you want" approach. Instead, using the best and recent studies showing cancer-fighting and general-health benefits of specific categories and subcategories of food (like soy and cruciferous vegetables, to name toon), the authors provide a solid basis on which a cancer patient (like myself) can make good nutritional choices while going through a period that can feature nausea, lack of appetitite, and general inactivity.

If I were a better patient, I'd eat exclusively from the items in this book, prepared according to their companion recipe book.

The book is not quite incidentally a great introduction to how the body works, how it processes food, and how cancer derives nutrition in order to grow. The short story: no fried foods, no alcohol, no processed sugar, no simple carbos; limited meat. Do eat legumes, phytochemical-containing vegetables and fruits, soy, fish, and lots of protein.

This book has helped me considerably in keeping myself healthy during chemotherapy without sacrificing nutrition.

This book has been very useful as I go through chemo. Although I have had some nausea, with the help of this book, I have energy, and am able to keep exercising, and keep teaching even in the midst of chemo.

This is not a fluffy book. The first sections are the best guide in micro and macro-nutruients for the layperson that I have read. (I should explain that I have a teaching license for biology, physics, and chemistry.) The recommended diets made my doctors perk up and smile, and nod and strongly agree.

The one caveat is that the supplementation information has not been updated to include some of the most recent research - other than that this book is the first resource I recommend.

If you're lost and trying to learn about which foods a cancer patient needs to eat....This is the book for you. I had to figure out what I was going to feed someone with cancer who did not want to eat. I knew that whatever he was going to eat would be a part of his treatment plan. So each morsel should be the best one that I could choose. This book explains everything you'll need to know on the subject. It will give you insight as to what's going on from the prospective of the cancer patient as well. A wonderful reference...Thank you!

Despite its 1996 copyright this is a great resource! After reading several books on nutrition and cancer this is the one I continue to use for ongoing reference. It is not an easy read but explains thoroughly the physiology and chemistry of food components and nutrients. This is a very useful guide and far more helpful than any other resource I've read, including "Beating Cancer with Nutrition" by guru P. Quilin.

The cancer-fighting nutrient most proven to date is selenium. A daily supplement of 200 microgram of selenium, has been shown in a large placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study -- the most prestigious type of scientific study of nutrients and drugs -- to cut the death rate from cancer in half.

Specifically, a large group of people who were given each day a yeast tablet enriched with 200 micrograms (mcg) of selenium had only half the number of deaths from cancer over a seven year period as a similarly large control group who were given a daily yeast tablet containing no selenium. Yeast tablets enriched with 200 mcg of selenium are readily available at pharmacies as well as health stores across the U.S. for about $5 or so for a bottle of 50 to 100 tablets -- only 10 cents or less per day -- I do.

The results of this dramatic study were published in the medical profession's own journal: The Journal of the American Medical Association. Nevertheless, most doctors pay no attention to the results. Think about that, selenium (at 10 cents per day or less) has been shown in a large clinical study to cut the death rate from cancer in half and nobody tells the public about it. Incredible! In my opinion, as a research chemist, everybody in the U.S. should take supplemental selenium every day.

Other nutrients which help prevent cancer include vitamin C, vitamin E, CoQ10, and lycopene.

This is a book that I would have liked to have known about whn I started undergoing treatment for Breast cancer. Have been going through Chemo treatments since September of 2005. Has been hard to find just what I should be eating to keep my energy level up and keep me going. This is a great book.

I first found this book at the library and liked it so much that I brought 2, one for a friend. It is one of the best books on diet and cancer I have read!! It is very helpful, especially if you are getting chemotherapy or radiation, because it tells how to deal with the side effects.

This book gave me a lot of information that is important to me as I have a gastrinoma. It has helped me ameliorate many of the hurtful symptoms without narcotics.

I'm very surprised to see the wide range of reviews for this book as it was exactly what I've been looking for. Thankfully, I received it as a gift from one of the nurses on my oncology team at the research hospital where I am a patient for chemotherapy, etc.

Be forewarned, there is such a variety of books out there and everyone is going to be handing you cookbooks and advice. The problem I encountered was that little of the content in these was clinically proven and I was disappointed that there wasn't more coming out of the American Cancer Society or the American Dietary Association that was as helpful and relevant as this book.

As such, when I started reading the introductory chapter that discuss cancer at the cellular level -- where cancer begins -- and then gets into how cancer progresses from a cell into a tumor that then disrupts an organ's entire system, followed by Chapter 3, "Cancer: When Good Cells Go Bad" and Chapter 4 "The Body Strikes Back," this was just the context I was looking for to understand what the context and role of food is in cancer. So, for me, the first half of the book was very helpful. However, I can understand how others -- maybe not wanting that detailed of a background -- might be a bit perplexed at the approach. However, they should just skip the first half and begin with Chapter 5 "Carbohydrates and Cancer."

Everyone is unique -- in my case, everything tastes like sea water among other issues -- but, I think most readers will find Part 2 very helpful:

Ch 11 Friendly Fire: The Nutritional Side Effects of Treatment
Ch 12 Prediet Preparation
Ch 13 Making Your Diet Plan Work for You
Ch 14 Higher Carb Lower fat Diet
Ch 15 Lower Carb Diets
Ch 16 Meal Planning for those Who Need to Gain or Lose Weight
Ch 17 Meal Planning When You're Undergoing Chemotherapy or Radiation
Ch 18 Recipes

I'm a believer in the idea that good nutrition will keep my body strong -- something all of us fighting cancer need to focus on. This book is a good weapon for that fight. As such, I see it as a must-buy for those trying to figure out what foods to eat and which to avoid to create a personalized meal plan/strategy during cancer treatment.

I keep this book, along with "The Chemotherapy Survival Guide," by Judith McKay and Tamera Schacher (3rd Ed. New Harbinger Pub., 2009), close by and -- while in treatment -- read portions of each nearly every day.

R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University