Nutrition services for those in cancer treatment and their caretaking community
Nutrition counseling for people undergoing cancer treatment
Available for New Clients (60 minute consultation) and Follow-Up Clients (30 minute consultation) in person or via Skype.
Cancer related nutrition counseling sessions include the following components:
Stephanie assesses your current intake and offers individually tailored recommendations for modifying diet and lifestyle to promote cancer survivorship. Included in your visit are specific suggestions to foster recovery, minimize treatment-induded side effects and reduce risk for recurrence. Ample time will be afforded for questions and answers with the intent of helping you separate fact from fiction when it comes to understanding common questions about cancer and nutrition. Examples of questions addressed include sugar and cancer, organic foods and what to do about soy, dairy and red meat. Stephanie’s intent is to empower you with tips, tools and recipe suggestions to implement practical goals immediately.
Friends and Family: Rallying the community support network for those undergoing cancer care
Stephanie offers “Friends and Family Community Nutrition Education Sessions” in person or online. These 1-hour group sessions are designed to empower and educate the support network rallying around someone as they go through cancer treatment and recovery.
When someone is diagnosed with cancer it can touch their entire community. Coordinated efforts to lend a hand often center around purchasing and preparing food. Communities might organize home-cooked meals to deliver to a patient and family or bring forth with well-intended advice on topics related to nutrition and cancer. Many social networks feel confused about how best to provide meaningful food related support with questions such as “What should I cook?”
The purpose of the “Friends and Family Community Nutrition Education Session” is to guide the group of individuals supporting someone affected by cancer in the following areas:
1). Maximize the mobilized meal train so that it matches up with the nutritional needs and preferences of the patient and family. Patients express tremendous gratitude at the outpouring of support in the form of food, however, sometimes meals delivered don’t align with a patient’s nutrition goals. For example, a veggie lasagna and a fresh batch of brownies is a generous gift, but not if a patient is trying to reduce their consumption of white flour and sugar. Similarly, someone recovery from surgery or experiencing side effects from chemotherapy might be following a special diet. Stephanie’s expertise in oncology nutrition poises her to assist friends and family by educating them on the precise nutritional needs and approaches that work for each individual patient. Practical suggestions, resources, websites and recipes are included.
2). Discuss how to be the best support team possible when it comes to offering nutrition and wellness advice, unsolicited or otherwise. Friends and family members can be a highly motivated bunch! They read online, sleuth incessantly and aim to offer recommendations that might improve outcomes for their loved one. Stephanie guides friends and family on how, when and if to broach the topic of sharing nutrition suggestions.
3). Educate people about cancer preventive nutrition and lifestyle factors at a time when they may be newly aware of and inspired to improve their own eating and exercise behaviors. A cancer diagnosis for a loved one can sparks meaningful change in the diet and lifestyle of those around them. It can also bring up fear and worry about what food and or eating patterns contribute to the risk of cancer. Stephanie has over 20 years of experience as an expert oncology nutritionist, teaching individuals, families and communities specific nutrition and lifestyle factors to prevent and manage cancer. This session is designed to help people transform the impact of a loved one’s cancer diagnosis into actionable change in their own life.
4). Clarify confusion and disseminate evidence-based answers to commonly asked questions about nutrition and cancer. Help patients, family members and support networks get on the same page about issues of concern to them, such as:
Is soy safe to eat?
Do I need to buy organic?
Can I have dairy and red meat?
Does sugar feed cancer?
Will a ketogenic, alkaline or macrobiotic diet help?
Should I become vegetarian or vegan?
What supplements should I include?
Which foods do I need to avoid?
Group sessions for friends and family members affected by a loved one’s cancer diagnosis are designed to meet the needs of each unique group. Please feel free to contact Stephanie directly with your inquiry about nutrition and cancer care programming.
**Active in a cancer support group and wanting to add a nutrition component?
Stephanie routinely offers group nutrition classes in person or online for people in cancer treatment. Are you in a cancer support group or network that wants a nutrition program to be part of your conversation? Do you lack community access to an expert cancer nutritionist? If so, Stephanie can partner with you for an in person or Skype facilitated cancer nutrition session. Stephanie tailors each group class to your community’s needs. Email Stephanie directly to discuss nutrition and cancer related programming for your group.
