San Antonio Breast Cancer Survivors Sought for Study of a Disease-Fighting Food Plan

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Breast cancer survivors can now join a new study to learn how certain foods may reduce the risk of cancer recurrence.

The study, Rx for Better Breast Health, is funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure and led by Dr. Amelie Ramirez, professor and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Breast cancer survivors who participate will be randomly assigned to one of two groups.

Each group will get different cancer nutrition tools, possibly six cooking demonstrations by Chef Iverson Brownell, who creates innovative culinary recipes that taste great and promote health (see his video).

Call 210-562-6579 to see if you qualify.

“We want to teach survivors the importance of a dietary plan full of foods with disease-fighting properties,” said Ramirez, who also is associate director for cancer prevention and health disparities and the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Endowed Chair in Cancer Health Care Disparities at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center (CTRC) at the Health Science Center.

The dietary choices people make can positively or negatively influence inflammation, the process your body uses to protect itself in response to infection or injury, said Dr. Michael Wargovich, study co-principal investigator and professor of molecular medicine at the Health Science Center.

Although inflammation is a vital part of the healing process of wounds and infections, if inflammation becomes chronic, it actually causes illness, like cancer.

Some beneficial anti-inflammatory foods are deep marine fish, dark leafy green vegetables, bright multi-colored vegetables, black and green teas, and many spices and herbs.

“Science has taught us that eating these types of foods can benefit health, and we want to see how a diet of these foods can impact breast cancer survivors,” Wargovich said.

To join the study, breast cancer survivors must be ages 18-75 and meet additional criteria.

H-E-B gift cards will be given to participants who complete the study’s three assessments—including surveys, blood work, and other measurements—at the CTRC.