Episode 38: Episode 36 | Anna Beery, RD. Nutrition in Cancer Care: challenges in head and neck cancer.

REACH - Research in Exercise And Cancer Health

Anna Beery is a registered dietitian working in radiation oncology at Ohio State University. The majority of Anna’s patients are head and neck (HNC) cancer patients. The treatment for HNC presents some unique challenges: with radiation affecting the swallowing muscles, making swallowing painful and difficult. Taste changes also make a lot of food unpalatable. The result of this is that HNC patients experience dramatic weight loss, particularly with muscle mass, with a profound impact on prognosis and quality of life.

In this episode, we chat about how Anna and the RD’s at OSU use nutrition to try and prevent some of these changes, along with the difficulties of working with patients undergoing treatment. A fascinating chat for me, I hope you enjoy it!