Jane Clarke to me, is closest to an oncology dietitian

As a stage 4 cancer survivor, one of my problems seems to be what foods to eat and what to avoid. Jane Clarke's article in the Daily Mail provides essential answers to my dilemma where food is concerned. Though my wife used to be Chief Dietitian at Seacroft Hospital, Leeds, it was 40 years ago. Where diet is concerned, I had my freedom of choice. Though, a diabetic for many years, her well-controlled diet used to be off whenever she indulged in a cheese cake or durian, at the expense of a normal lunch or dinner.

Just before my appointment  with the oncologist in HKL, I read an article which I had read before, shared by good-intentioned friends or relatives, which debunked chemotherapy. Just imagine for someone who had just completed 12-cycle of chemo drug taken orally, and half expected to be recommended stronger chemo drug intra-veinously, I was in a dilemma. Shall I go against professional advice or go along and expect more of my good cells to be destroyed in the process?

My wife was with me when the oncologist explained in detail my condition and what she thought was best for the next few months: monitoring by CEA blood tests and CT Scan, I was secretly happy for her advice, just as I was happy when she gave me the option of chemo drug to be taken orally instead of IV. 'Sum siong si seng' in Chinese, (or what you wish for comes true) comes to mind. I was glad my wife was with me, otherwise my daughters might think it was my decision instead of the doctor's.

Anyway, here is the excerpt of Jane Clarke:

The truth about diet and cancer: Top dietitian JANE CLARKE reveals what to eat (and what to avoid) to beat the disease

• Some statistics predict one in two of us will go on to develop cancer
• Many cancers, from stomach to bowel, are linked to diet and weight gain
• Jane Clarke shows diet tweaks that could help reduce your risk

"There doesn’t seem to be a day that passes without a new cancer statistic being published — one of the most alarming from recent years is that one in two of us will go on to develop the disease.

It makes so many of us feel vulnerable, and naturally we want to know what — if anything — we can do to protect ourselves. As a dietitian and nutritionist for the past 25 years, I have treated hundreds of people, young and old and often a key question, even if I was seeing them for a different issue entirely, was what we should and shouldn’t eat to reduce the likelihood of developing cancer, and how can food help us fight the disease if we are diagnosed?

The incidence of different cancers varies hugely but, worryingly, the numbers of people affected are on the rise.

Bowel cancer is now the third most common cause of cancer death in women in the UK, according to the charity Bowel Cancer UK. And it is increasingly affecting younger people, with a 45 per cent increase in those under 50 being diagnosed.

Breast cancer, the most common cancer in women in the UK with around 54,000 new cases each year, is also on the rise.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show an 8 per cent rise in the number of people with pancreatic cancer since 2012.

Better detection and our longer lives play a part in rising cancer rates, but our lifestyle and environment must also be part of the picture — what we put into our body has a profound impact, with many cancers, from stomach to bowel, linked to diet and weight gain.

A massive two-thirds of bowel cancer cases could be prevented by eating, drinking and living well according to the NHS.

Weight gain is strongly linked to an increased risk of stomach and oesophageal cancer, according to a new study from the National Cancer Institute in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Mediterranean Diet — a long-time staple of healthy eating lore — has recently been found by the World Cancer Research Fund to reduce the risk of contracting one of the most dangerous forms of breast cancer by 40 per cent.

The same study also found a strong relationship between weight gain around the waist and incidence of womb cancer — even a small increase in waist size can lead to a 21 per cent increase in risk of the disease.

The foods and nutrients we eat — and what we avoid — can have a huge impact on our wellbeing and cancer risk.

And if someone already has a diagnosis of cancer, what they eat is also incredibly important, especially as cancer treatment can make eating difficult, causing nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, loss of appetite, mouth ulcers and extreme exhaustion. Unfortunately there are many misconceptions about food and cancer.

So here, I’ll separate the wheat from the chaff — I’ll also show you the tweaks to your diet that could help reduce your risk.

THE TRUTH ABOUT DIET AND CANCER

There are all sorts of ‘miracle’ anti-cancer diets out there but I strongly advise anyone against embarking on a dramatic ‘clean eating’ or exclusion eating plan.

Not only do they add to the fear of anyone worried about developing cancer, they can also worsen the outcomes of those living with the disease.

People end up malnourished and there just isn’t the evidence to support such extreme strategies. So let’s look at the biggest myths around food and cancer and see what adds up . . ."

Following are several myths and facts as well as advice on foods (headings only), according to her opinion:

Myth: Meat will give you cancer

Myth: Wine protects you 

Myth: Dairy foods cause cancer

Myth: Sugar ‘feeds’ cancer

Stock up on your tomatoes and turmeric

Fruit and vegetables
Fibre
Turmeric

For those interested to know more, rest of her article: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4464402/What-eat-avoid-beat-cancer.html?ito=social-facebook

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