Food is medicine at Ohio State, where a new study emphasizes nutrition to help improve quality of life for lung cancer patients. Nutritional challenges can be issues for patients with several types of cancer, but lung cancer patients can face unique hurdles. “The aggressiveness of the disease itself can take away a lot of the caloric intake that patients consume in their food,” says Carolyn Presley, MD, a lung cancer specialist at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute. “A lot of that has to do with the biology of the disease.” Click here to learn more about lung cancer, including risks, symptoms and treatment options at The Ohio State University. Presley is part of a team of researchers at Ohio State and other leading cancer centers involved in the NutriCare study, a clinical trial designed to reduce some of the nutrition-related side effects of lung cancer and its treatment through an approach described as “food is medicine.” “The food is medicine intervention involves sending medically-tailored meals that take into account patients’ tastes and other chronic diseases that they may have,” Presley says. “We work with patients and families to put together personalized nutrition programs.” The study also addresses food insecurity — a lack of access to nutritious foods — which can often affect lung cancer patients and their families during treatment. “Many are experiencing either food insecurity — this could be the amount of fiber or protein, or even water or nutrient intake, like sodium or potassium,” Presley says. “We found that, in our first 100 patients, food insecurity affected 13 percent.” Click here to learn more about cancer clinical trials at the OSUCCC – James. The interventions made an immediate impact, with the percentage of participants reporting food insecurity falling to five percent during the first eight months of the study. “We saw a dramatic improvement, not only in food insecurity, but also in quality of life and issues like depression and anxiety,” Presley says. By including nutritional counseling for patients and their families, Presley and her NutriCare colleagues are breaking new ground in comprehensive cancer care, providing new knowledge that will continue to help long after treatment. “We were able to help our patients by giving them not only food itself, but the tools to enjoy what they're eating, rather than having it be a chore,” she says. Click here to learn about nutritional programs and other support available to cancer patients and their families through JamesCare for Life.