Nutrition and Cancer – A Time for Action

Abstract

I would like to welcome you to this edition of Kompass Nutrition & Dietetics. On a topic as broad as Nutrition and Cancer, this issue aims to demonstrate how crucial a role nutrition plays across the entire cancer continuum, with dietitians at the forefront of its delivery. We now have an ever-growing body of evidence that good nutrition can reduce the risk of certain cancers, and it is best to avoid alcohol for cancer prevention [1]. Prehab to optimize health and nutritional status prior and during treatments is now well established in many surgical oncology pathways and recommended for all people with cancer before, during, and, as has been the traditional service of rehabilitation, after treatments [2]. People with cancer are living longer thanks to dramatic improvements in treatments such as targeted therapies and immunotherapies. However, these, and other treatments, cause known (and unknown) short-term nutrition impact symptoms and more long-term consequences that can occur during or well after treatment/s, affecting people’s ability to eat, their shortand long-term nutritional status, and their food-related quality of life [3, 4]. Appropriate nutrition supports treatment delivery to improve survival and enhance quality of life for those living with cancer [5]. As someone nears the end of their life due to cancer, nutritional issues may need to be supported. With nutrition so important at each stage, dietitians have the specialist skill set to deliver appropriate nutritional assessment, interventions, and ongoing monitoring. However, we never work in isolation and must lean on, train, support, and communicate well with our cancer care colleagues in both the cancer multidisciplinary team and primary care setting. How we deliver nutrition services continues to develop as we utilize alternative care deliv-