Upcoming Nutrition After Cancer Conference To Bring Researchers, Survivors To The Table

American Institute for Cancer Research
Friday, 31 August 2001

Forum Will Foster Discussion, Provide Latest Diet and Lifestyle Advice for Cancer Survivors

The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) will host a conference bringing researchers, physicians, activists and cancer survivors together. The aim of the October 18 Nutrition after Cancer conference in Santa Monica is twofold: to provide survivors with the latest, scientifically sound diet and lifestyle advice that promotes overall health and may help keep cancer at bay, and to offer a forum for researchers studying survivorship issues to hear the specific questions and concerns of the survivor community.

In the US alone, there are now over 8.5 million people living after cancer. As the population ages and efforts to screen, detect and successfully treat cancer continue to improve, this number is only expected to rise.

Yet according to conference chair Dr. Stephen K. Clinton, an Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Ohio State University, only a trivial amount of research has been completed to date on how diet and lifestyle affect the risk of recurrence, the risk of secondary cancers, late effects of cancer treatment and overall quality of life. He recently joined AICR in calling for greater federal funding for the study of these and other aspects of cancer survivorship.

"Independent research organizations like AICR are doing their part, but without the kind of sustained, comprehensive economic support that only government can provide, getting good science on this important topic will remain a struggle."

In fact, the federal government devotes over $4.3 billion to cancer research each year. In fiscal year 2000, however, only $10 million -- 0.2 percent of the federal cancer research budget -- found its way to the research programs of the US Office of Cancer Survivorship.

Scientists and Survivors Agree: Extensive, Reliable Survivor Research Needed

Scheduled to speak at the AICR Nutrition after Cancer conference is Diana Dyer, a registered dietitian who is herself a three-time cancer survivor. She will discuss the dietary changes she has made and the foods that may help bolster the body's defenses against cancer.

"Cancer treatment brings about profound physical and emotional changes," she said. "Survivors come out of this very difficult experience determined to do whatever it takes to stay healthy. They are ready to make changes in regard to diet and exercise, and are looking for guidance.

"But right now that vital opportunity is being missed, because survivors simply aren't hearing a coherent message from their physicians or the research community."

Dyer said that, because only a handful of peer-reviewed research is available, many survivors have come to rely on word of mouth. "But these are life-and-death issues, and survivors need more than anecdotal information or unscrupulous promises. We want to see this research done, and done well."

Conference Offers Opportunity for Meaningful Dialogue

Dr. David Heber, a cancer researcher who will also speak at the Nutrition after Cancer conference, agrees. "I will be presenting a talk that translates the available science into practical, everyday dietary advice for survivors to follow," he said, "but my real role at the conference will be to listen."

Dr. Heber is an M.D. and Ph.D at the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition, and an international expert on the diet-cancer link. "Those of us in the scientific and medical communities are just beginning to investigate the relationship between diet and cancer survivorship," he said. "We are looking to hear from survivors so that we can tailor our research efforts to provide the answers they demand."

Dr. Mark Messina of Loma Linda University, also scheduled to speak at the AICR Nutrition after Cancer conference, expressed the hope that striking such a dialogue between scientists and survivors will help drive research on this growing health issue, and increase public awareness. In his presentation, Dr. Messina will evaluate the research on what has become a furiously debated topic in the survivor community -- the possible benefits and risks of soy intake for cancers survivors.

Wide Range of Topics for Survivors

Additional speakers will discuss a several topics pertinent to the survivor community, including use of dietary supplements, how to assess the risks and benefits of making changes to diet and activity level, and the practical steps that need to be taken to foster more research in these important areas.

The cost of the AICR Nutrition after Cancer conference is $65 per person and includes a healthy lunch. To register for the AICR Nutrition After Cancer conference, call AICR toll-free at 1-800-843-8114, ext. 123, between 9:00-5:00 Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. For more information, see the AICR website, www.aicr.org.

For more information, or to contact American Institute for Cancer Research, see their website at: www.aicr.org