(509) 228-1000 WA
(208) 754-3100 ID

Nutrition Services

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A healthy lifestyle is extremely important in your fight against cancer. At Cancer Care Northwest, an oncology dietitian is available to assess your nutritional needs and to develop a personalized program to improve your health before, during and after treatment.

With our registered dietitian’s professional guidance and clinical expertise, you will become equipped to eat healthier and to make better lifestyle choices that promote optimal treatment outcomes and support your overall well-being.

Patient nutrition services include:

  • Healthy lifestyle education
  • Body composition assessment
  • Diet and supplement review and assessment
  • Dietary intervention focusing on anti-inflammatory and whole foods
  • Assistance with managing treatment side effects
  • Stress management
  • Exercise recommendations

Patient nutrition services include:

  • Individualized meal plan that focuses on decreasing inflammation in the body
  • Education about diet and lifestyle factors known to influence risk of recurrence
  • Support tips to help maintain a stable, healthy weight during treatment
  • Nutrition-related interventions for treatment side effects like decreased appetite, nausea, bowel changes (diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating), peripheral neuropathy, taste changes, or mouth tenderness/sores
  • Oral intake support: recipes, snack ideas, and nutrient-dense foods to support specific needs and/or meal plan
  • Nutrition Support with Hot Flashes: improving tolerance of anti-estrogen therapy
  • Exercise: (1) how to assess whether you are doing enough exercise to make a difference and (2) tips on recommended frequency, type, duration, and intensity of exercises
  • Supplements: discuss which supplements to avoid versus promote during treatment
  • Education about soy in relation to breast cancer

Stephanie Swarthout, MS, RD
Stephanie received a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics from the University of Northern Colorado.  After graduating, she completed a 33-week Dietetic Internship with the University of Houston.  In May 2021, she graduated from Kansas University Medical Center with a Master of Science in Dietetics and Nutrition (MS).  Stephanie Swarthout is an oncology registered dietitian with a passion for food as medicine, and a philosophy of healing through good nutrition. Her goal is to help her patients feel their best through treatment and beyond with a food first approach.

Our registered dietitian is eager to help you throughout treatment to achieve a more comfortable experience while encouraging healing. To schedule an appointment, please see the following steps:

  • Contact your CCNW doctor’s nurse and request a nutrition appointment

  • Your CCNW doctor will enter an order for nutrition consult

  • A scheduler will call you to set up an appointment

  • A Patient Advocate will verify insurance benefits for nutrition services and call you before the scheduled appointment to review coverage/charges

Our oncology dietitian recommends the following websites for patients interested in learning more about how to adopt a healthier lifestyle during and after treatment: 

  • Diet and Cancer Report: Diet and Cancer Report – American Institute for Cancer Research & World Cancer Research Fund
  • World's Healthiest Foods: A list of the most highly recommended food
  • FoodNews.org: This specific link offers a list of the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables. It is updated annually as the Dirty Dozen Report.
  • NAL.USDA.GOV: Look up any food item to get a full nutrition profile.
  • Cancer.org:  This website is produced by the American Cancer Society: Nutrition for the Person with Cancer. 

 

As of February 1, 2017, CCNW will no longer be providing nutritional supplements to our patients. The following handout may be of assistance to you when you're looking for nutritional supplements: 

"Meeting with a nutritionist really helped me zero in on ideas that would help me feel better during chemotherapy. I have enjoyed learning how to eat healthier, and Heather is so great at what she does!" 
- Terry, Lung Cancer