The story

Walk into Lisa Nasser's kitchen most evenings and you're greeted by rich aromas that indicate an exceptional cook is at work on a delicious creation.

Cooking is Nasser's passion, but she left the kitchen and the cooking to others for six months in 2006 when she, like her mother before her, learned she had breast cancer. Numerous rounds of chemotherapy left her spent. "I didn't have the energy to go shopping, bring in the food, prepare the food. I needed to rest, to sleep," she recalls.

Nasser's experience isn't unique. According to the American Cancer Society, more than a million Americans will undergo cancer treatment this year. For cancer patients, nutrition is especially important, but many find that they are too tired to cook, or the food tastes bad, or they are too nauseated to eat, or they have painful mouth sores -- or all of the above.

To coincide with National Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, the American Cancer Society has released a cookbook called "What to Eat During Cancer Treatment."

Colleen Doyle, registered dietitian and editor of the cookbook, says the book is full of recipes and eating strategies that patients with all types of cancer can adopt to help deal with the unpleasant side effects of treatment. Chemotherapy, radiation and drug therapies often leave patients with nausea, diarrhea, constipation, mouth sores, taste alterations and unintentional weight loss. Read full article »

All About American Cancer SocietyDiet and NutritionBreast Cancer

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