Nutrition and cancer have a connection, but there are no foods that cure cancer nor are there foods that cause cancer, except for a fungus that grows in Asia that causes liver cancer.

Dr. Robert Gagliano, an oncologist at Verde Valley Medical Center, spoke at the Sedona Public Library on Aug. 14 on “Nutrition, Cancer and You,” as part of the hospital’s Take Note Sedona Lecture Series. VVMC medical nutrition clinician Pam Ing-Dobrota also talked about foods and their purpose within the body.

Gagliano said although foods cannot cause or cure cancer, nutrition can have a marked effect on a person’s risk of developing cancer. In people who already have cancer, good nutrition can aid in treatment.

“The purpose of nutrition care is to maintain good health and bodily function for people undergoing cancer treatment. There is a whole host of nutritional issues with cancer and treatment,” Gagliano said. “The big issue we have is cancer cachexia, a wasting syndrome that starts with loss of appetite and weight loss. It can significantly impact treatment.”

Often people undergoing cancer treatment, especially chemotherapy, will have a metallic taste in their mouth and food no longer tastes good, so they don’t want to eat, he said.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Aug. 29, edition of The Camp Verde Journal or the Cottonwood Journal Extra.