The UK Bristol Cancer Help Centre conducted a survey and discovered that cancer patients are not given information about cancer prevention when it comes to diet. This does not surprise me. When I was newly-diagnosed with cancer and undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, no one discussed nutrition with me or how I might include cancer prevention foods in my menu planning. I had to research and educate myself about the benefits of eating healthy foods that would support my healing and long-term health.

In the survey of 1,288 cancer patients, the researchers found that 83 percent were not routinely given advice on nutrition by their healthcare team and 77 percent did not feel they could ask for it. In addition, 93 percent of the survey participants were not told where to find information about diet, even though 61 percent said they directly asked for information on the role of healthy eating.

Some of the cancer patients reported that when they did ask for advice on nutrition from healthcare workers, the answers they were given ranged from, "diet makes no difference, just eat normally" to "eat a healthy diet." Those answers are little help if there is no information provided defining what eat normally and healthy means. There is a mountain of research indicating that what we eat makes a difference to healing and health. This survey was not an eye-opener for me, but perhaps it will create an awareness in the healthcare community to the need for developing comprehensive educational materials on nutrition and diet for cancer patients and cancer survivors.