Grilled fresh salmon, winter-roasted vegetables and persimmon and Granny Smith apple cobbler are not just the stuff of menus in San Francisco's best restaurants.

They are also on the menu of a special dinner for cancer patients that will be served in the dining room of UCSF/Mount Zion on January 22. The Healthy Eating Program is a special event to be offered by the UCSF/Mount Zion Cancer Resource Center. UCSF/Mount Zion chefs will prepare a gourmet meal for 25 cancer patients to help them learn about healthy eating during their treatment. The program is the brainchild of Keren Stronach, MPH, coordinator of the UCSF Cancer Resource Center, and volunteer Bernadette Festa, MS, RD, who is also a nutritionist.

"Diet is a real focus for cancer patients," Stronach says. "One feels so helpless in the face of the disease. One area where people have control is in their diet. A well-nourished body is better able to handle the rigors of treatment and may, therefore, be able to heal better."

The two-hour dinner will include a full-course meal served with a dessert buffet, nutritional advice and recipes for all the dishes. Odwalla juices have also been donated for the meal from the Half Moon Bay-based company.

"We also want to introduce patients to new foods that are easy to make and are healthy," Stronach says. "But the dinner also provides patients a chance to meet others who are going through the same thing."

Medical evidence is building on the importance of diet in cancer prevention. An estimated 30 to 40 percent of cancers are related to diet, according to oncologist Ernest Rosenbaum, MD, UCSF clinical professor of medicine.

"There is ongoing research to help establish a successful cancer prevention program that includes diet. It's believed that diet plays a role in the prevention of prostate, breast and colon cancer," Rosenbaum says. "In addition, once you have cancer, diet may play a role in reducing the risk of a recurrence."

As a physician and author of "Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy," Rosenbaum acknowledges the difficulty in convincing people to make positive lifestyle changes.

"Programs like these will support patients in changing their behavior," he says.

The sit-down dinner will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the UCSF/Mount Zion Nosherie, 1600 Divisadero St., San Francisco. A donation of $10 for the event is requested. Reservations are required and may be made by contacting Stronach at the Cancer Resource Center, 415/885-3693.

In addition to the Healthy Eating Program, the UCSF Cancer Resource Center offers a number of other programs, all of which are free. Other programs include exercise, dance therapy, Art for Recovery, gardening, support groups and the "Look Good, Feel Better" program for people receiving chemotherapy.

The Cancer Resource Center is located in the UCSF Cancer Center building, 2356 Sutter St., on the second floor, room J-223. Also housed in the resource center are a library and other materials for cancer patients.

By Dale Martin

1st appeared 1/12/98

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