Eating For Cancer

How I modify my diet to defeat this disease

Shefali O'Hara
4 min readJul 20, 2024
Homemade ratatouille and a puzzle

I woke up this morning craving pizza. The thing is, I have cancer. In order to beat it, I have to control what I eat.

Once upon a time, I’d have ordered my favorite type and Mom and I would have enjoyed it. But that is a serious cheat on my cancer diet.

Things I avoid these days — processed foods, GMO foods, vegetable oils, high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, grains laden with pesticides, factory farm produced meats and fish… all the stuff most Americans consume more of than they should.

Many years ago, I tried being a vegan because I hated how they treat animals in American agriculture. However, when I got cancer, I did more research, and small to moderate amounts of animal protein are very healthy IF they are the right type.

So I might have 3 ouces of grass fed, grass finished steak or 4 ounces of pastured chicken or 6 ounces of wild-caught fish with several servings of organic veggies.

I have a hierarchy for my produce.

Something I grew in my own garden is at the top. Something a friend grew in her garden is just under that. Organic produce from farmers’ markets is next. Organic produce from a supermarket is still fine. Non-organic produce is to be avoided.

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Shefali O'Hara
Shefali O'Hara

Written by Shefali O'Hara

Cancer survivor, Christian, writer, engineer. BSEE from MIT, MSEE, and MA in history. Love nature, animals, books, art, and interesting discussions.

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