SAN ANTONIO (June 16, 2014) — A group of breast cancer survivors will gather tomorrow morning at the Cancer Therapy & Research Center to hear a lecture and cooking demonstration about how certain foods may reduce the risk of cancer recurrence — deliciously.
The women are participants in the study Rx for Better Breast Health. As a part of the study, this group will attend several lectures by study co-principal investigator Michael Wargovich, Ph.D., professor of molecular medicine in the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center, combined with cooking demonstrations by Chef Iverson Brownell, who creates innovative culinary recipes that taste great and promote health.
“We want to teach survivors the importance of a dietary plan full of foods with disease-fighting properties,” said principal investigator Amelie Ramirez, Dr. P.H., professor and director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio.
People’s dietary choices can affect inflammation, the process the body uses to protect itself in response to inflammation or injury, Dr. Wargovich said.
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.
The study is funded by Susan G. Komen, and people interested in participating can call 210-562-6579 to see if they qualify.
The Cancer Therapy & Research Center (CTRC) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is one of the elite academic cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center, and is one of only four in Texas. A leader in developing new drugs to treat cancer, the CTRC Institute for Drug Development (IDD) conducts one of the largest oncology Phase I clinical drug programs in the world, and participates in development of cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.ctrc.net.