Robin McConnell Discusses Nutrition in Cancer Care

Robin McConnell, MS, RD, CSO, clinical nutrition coordinator, John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses the extra care and consideration that is needed when discussing nutrition with cancer patients.

McConnell notes that it is important that cancer patients understand that nutrition should come primarily from food and not supplements, since many supplements have not been tested in clinical trials. When advising patients concerning nutrition it is important to be careful and warn against possible negative interactions that may occur. To aid this conversation, the National Institutes of Health offers tools for checking for drug-drug or herb-drug interactions (More Information).

Nutritional supplements have the potential to be beneficial but can also cause greater harm. It is important to be aware of any interactions, even if the patient is taking a natural substance. McConnell advises that natural does not mean harmless.