Bryon Daily considers himself fortunate because he did not have many financial issues during his treatment journey and he made an excellent recovery. But, he knows many people don’t have the same experience, which is why he has become an advocate for patients with cancer.

Daily received a diagnosis of multiple myeloma in 2018 after he fractured his finger during a basketball game and it didn’t heal for weeks. Daily underwent several months of chemotherapy that led to an autologous bone marrow transplant. Today he still takes some therapeutic medications, which are covered by insurance.

“I consider myself to be very fortunate because it wasn’t a catastrophe financially for me,” he said.

Additionally, he healed well in remission thanks to taking care of his body and staying active, which he encourages patients and survivors to do.

“I think that was a testament to just making sure that as you get older, you stay active,” he added. “Be aware of your body. (When it’s) in pain, don’t hesitate to go to the doctor and get it checked out. I’m a big believer in self-advocating.”

Daily uses his belief in self-advocacy in his current role as the Community Outreach Manager for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In his role, he advises other patients to advocate for themselves — especially those who may not be as fortunate.

He helps guide patients through financial hardships and leads them to resources through his organization and others. He realizes his journey may have been different because he had his wife, along with his three grown children supporting him.

“For me, the personal journey was sort of an existential experience. As you get older and start reflecting back on things you’ve done, on what could have led up to this, you start thinking about mortality and look around at other people and start comparing it. ... You look at life through a different lens — (we) all have our own experience,” he explained.

Daily feels his experience can help others and believesthat sometimes the best advocate for a patient is someone who knows exactly what they’re going through.

“It can be scary for some people; they don’t know what to expect, they don’t understand how they respond to various drugs. I mean they might not have the kind of support that I had. ... I feel that I can contribute my story, my experience, to help other people,” he said.

A cancer survivor may feel healthy and ready to move on with their life, but they often remember what they have gone through and how hard it was. Daily said survivors can help others who are in the middle of their cancer journey by providing hope or just being a friend who understands.

“I would recommend (that cancer survivors) find an organization where they can volunteer,” Daily concluded. “It doesn’t even have to be related to your disease, it just has to be somewhere you can give back. It’s really kind of a selfish activity because it makes you feel good that you were able to do this, but it also helps other people.”

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to 

Articles

The best advocate for a patient with cancer is someone who knows exactly what they're going through, noted a multiple myeloma survivor.

Cancer Survivors May Be the Best Advocates

Many cancer survivors may think the stress and anxiety are cured along with the disease, but that is not always the case. Stress, anxiety and pain can remain after cancer treatment has ended but 

Meditation is a mind-body complementary therapy that research has shown improves mood and sleep, in addition to helping with anxiety and pain. These are side effects that cancer survivors commonly encounter as a result of their disease and treatment. So how can meditation help and how to start?

Erin O’Carroll Bantum, a clinical health psychologist at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center spoke with Heal®, a sister publication of CURE®, about meditation.

There are many different types of meditation, Bantum explained, but she primarily focuses on mindfulness meditation for cancer survivors.

 allows someone to notice their racing thoughts and sensations in their body, and oftentimes, in simply noticing, the body and mind can calm. Bantum described mindfulness meditation as “paying attention to what is,” noticing experiences and being with them but not attaching to them.

As previously mentioned, research has demonstrated that mindfulness mediation can improve things such as pain, how pain is perceived, anxiety and stress. And current research is evaluating if it also can improve neuropathy — a common side effect in cancer survivors.

“I like to think of it as more of an umbrella intervention,” she explained. “There are going to be specific side or late effects that we will want to impact (with meditation) that are bothersome to people. But the general practice is to really look at our overall experience. … As we do that and extend that into our everyday life, it becomes relevant in interactions with others (and) it can improve our function and social interactions.”

Bantum added that many cancer survivors who come to her looking for a new approach to ease what they are going through often feel isolated. They may feel lost after treatment is over and that others don’t understand what they are going through. Meditation has been shown to improve mood, so this might be helpful for cancer survivors who are feeling this way, Bantum explained.

“I think building those habits in general … such as mindfulness meditation … having those things we can consistently do for our physical and mental health, I think that stability is really grounding when the experience of cancer can be so ungrounding,” she said.

Bantum noted that it is important to make a commitment to meditation — she said the best way to reap the benefits is to practice every day. It is not a long process, she said. A good start would be five to 10 minutes then working up to 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation, either first thing in the morning or right before bed.

“I think sometimes if we expect something unreasonable, in terms of how much time we actually have to devote, we can feel overwhelmed and then we might not practice at all,” she added. “Try to suspend any judgment about the experience for a while. Give yourself a few weeks if you can, and even if it feels like it’s going nowhere, see how it really feels to continue the practice. The best way to know what to keep including in your life is to really feel it out yourself, especially if you can sit through some natural discomfort to see what’s underneath.”

Bantum explained that meditation can be overwhelming at first. When sitting down and trying not to think of anything, often everything then comes to mind. But if a cancer survivor would like to try meditation, she recommends following these steps:

Find a quiet space without distractions to practice.

Sit in a comfortable position that allows you to be alert but also relaxed and upright.

Rest your arms on your legs or on the arms of a chair — somewhere they are comfortable.

Breathe in through your nose, expanding your belly with air and releasing through your nose. Perhaps let a few long inhales out through your mouth, as well.

Finally, be with the thoughts that come to mind but do not attach to them. Focus on breathing and try to simply notice whatever is the feeling you experience, in the moment.

As part of its Heal at Home series, CURE® collaborated with a clinical health psychologist at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center to provide cancer survivors an easy-to-understand guide to start meditating. 

How Mindfulness Meditation May Help Ease Stress and Anxiety in Cancer Survivors, and Where to Start

Gwen Goodman is a survivor of stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma. She was shocked when, years after her treatment, she wasn’t taken seriously at the doctors when complaining about symptoms she was experiencing. She had never been told she might have long-term side effects after her treatment was finished.

“All of a sudden when you’re cured it’s like, ‘OK, you’re good.’ ... I felt like nobody was listening to me anymore,” she said in an interview with Heal®.

Goodman, was 22 when she received her Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis. Then 13 years after she had finished her cancer treatment at the age of 35 she started noticing side effects. She began to experience 

neuropathy, a common side effect in cancer survivors

 that can cause weakness, numbness and pain from nerve damage, usually in the hands and feet. 

It once became so painful she went to the emergency department where a doctor told her: “You don’t have neuropathy; you don’t have diabetes.”

“It’s frustrating because you are looked at as a pill seeker or a hypochondriac. But being in that situation at such a very young age, every little bump, every little everything is scary, and you have to find a doctor who really listens to you,” she said.

Today, more research is available and physicians are more knowledgeable about what happens after someone has survived cancer.

“I think what we didn’t know (20 years ago) is the extent and prevalence of long-term and late effects in the growing population of cancer survivors — and how to prevent and mitigate those,” Julia Rowland, senior strategic adviser for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts in Washington, D.C., said in an interview with 

In 1996, the National Cancer Institute created the Office of Cancer Survivorship with Rowland joining in 1999 as its first full-time director. She said the focus on cancer survivorship was just beginning.

“I think people were beginning to recognize (cancer survivorship) in a growing fashion that just because treatments are over, it doesn’t mean the experience was over,” she said.

But there were challenges that remained and some cancer survivors, such as Goodman, experienced this struggle and lack of understanding. There was still a lack of focus on late-term effects and consequences of cancer treatment, as Rowland said. And often patients weren’t told about the post-treatment side effects they might experience. All that was really done was scheduling follow-up visits to make sure the cancer didn’t come back, Rowland explained.

“We weren’t even beginning to talk to anybody about what happens next," Rowland said. "So we allowed people to finish their treatment and it was kind of a pat on the back and a ‘Good luck, have a good life.’ ... People were kind of pushed out the door and many of them felt abandoned.”

Goodman remembers feeling this way. She felt alone and that no one was listening to her.

“Yes, absolutely I had to advocate for myself,” she recalled.

She is not the only patient who has had to advocate for themselves after cancer in the past 20 years. The good news is that survivors are starting to advocate for patients and other survivors. Goodman’s mother is going through her second journey with breast cancer, and an advocate came in and talked to her about what they went through. It was the kind of connection Goodman would have benefited from 20 years ago.

“I think that’s good for somebody to know somebody else has gone through it. That’s an awesome program some (care facilities) have,” she said.

Rowland agreed and reflected on “the power of advocates” who have spoken up and “pounded” on the doors of oncologists and Congress, demanding to receive what patients and survivors need.


“These are real lives that are affected and there’s nothing that is more compelling than listening to people tell their stories," Rowland added. "And I think that will continue to be the way that we see changes, people talking about that lived experience and how we can make this better." 

That is all Goodman wants: someone to listen and make a change. However, she still sees roadblocks.

As her mother goes through her cancer journey, Goodman sees a lack of preparation for when treatment is complete.

"My mom, she’s going through her second battle with breast cancer, and she’s had a double mastectomy. And I’ve not seen anything for the future to help her,” she explained. “Once (cancer treatment) is over there needs to be something that prepares them, and I just don’t see it right now.”

Goodman would like to see a program that brings doctors and cancer survivors together so the experts can understand what survivors are going through after treatment and better prepare their patients in active treatment. She hopes people aren’t pushed out the door anymore, as she was and as Rowland also described.

“There is a lot more support (now), but it just needs to be talked about before they need that support. That’s my goal — to not have everybody pushed out the door like, ‘OK you’re good, you’re cured,’” she said.

Rowland agrees that although the work for cancer survivorship has been significant and beneficial over the past 20 years, more must be done. Areas she said still need to be addressed include psychological well-being, health promotion, financial toxicity and the effects on caregivers.

As there are a growing number of cancer survivors, there are a growing number of issues they encounter, and it is important that over the next 20 years those are focused on, Rowland said.

“The biggest testament to our war against cancer ... is the growing number of survivors," she explained. "We’re finding cancer earlier, we’re treating it more effectively, we’re supporting people to live longer. And that’s what on Wall Street they call a ‘high-end problem.’”

“It’s great there are more survivors, but it’s a challenge because they are in the system and we need to be taking better care of them,” Rowland concluded.

Although much has changed in the past two decades, more needs to be done to prepare cancer survivors for what happens after their treatments end. 

I'm a Cancer Survivor... What Now?

Cancer survivors may experience delays in important care due to transportation barriers, which may lead to bigger problems, according to study results.

“We know that cancer survivors are much sicker and have more financial issues compared (with) a patient without a history of cancer. But it’s very important for them to access the health care they need,” Dr. Charles Jiang, lead author on the study, said in an interview with Heal®, a sister publication of CURE®. “And transportation barriers turned out to be one of the key factors contributing to a health disparity in the cancer survivor community.”

Jiang, a medical oncology fellow at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, explained that cancer survivors may experience other comorbidities and be at risk for health concerns such as heart disease or a secondary cancer. And it is important for them to keep up with care and doctor’s appointments.

However, this can be difficult for some cancer survivors 

 (not having a car available or not being able to drive) or unreliable public transportation. These barriers can cause them to continuously miss important appointments and follow-ups, which can create a bigger problem.

“Because (cancer survivors) have a lot of issues and tend to be sicker and weaker, they need more help to get them from home to the clinic. Because once they’ve missed their doctors visit, just simply because they cannot get a bus on time or because there’s nobody to drop them off, they don’t get the care they need and end up in the emergency (department) for something bigger,” Jiang explained.

Jiang and colleagues reviewed collected information from 11,856 adult cancer survivors and 136,609 adults without a history of cancer. The results, which were published in 

, demonstrated that cancer survivors were more likely to have experienced delays in health care due to transportation barriers in the preceding 12 months, compared with those without a history of cancer (3.1% versus 1.8%).

Additional results demonstrated that younger cancer survivors (18 to 40 years old) reported more transportation barriers than their peers without cancer. Jiang noted that this is a group that needs a lot of support. They are most likely still working and providing for themselves, as well as raising a family — so for them to receive care without delay is vital, he said.

“(These cancer survivors) need a lot of support and they’re sicker — we have a lot of studies already showing that,” he explained. “But here we’re suggesting that this group of cancer survivors, in addition to having the most financial toxicity and (possibly having difficulty paying) their medical bill, they can’t even find a way to the clinic. And it’s very important, because to (understand) their health care, they need to see their doctor first.”

In an adjusted analysis, cancer survivors who were younger, poorer, uninsured or publicly insured, unmarried or had self-reported physical functioning limitations were more likely to 

“This is suggesting it should be a collaboration or at least a discussion involving all of the stakeholders, not only the patient and doctor,” he said. “We really need more help from the social workers and more importantly we need help from the insurance companies. They have to realize that if they (aren’t) providing the transportation coverage or a convenient transportation option for all these patients, we’re going to see them in the emergency (department) and they’re going to have really negative health outcomes at the end of the road.”

One in 6 cancer survivors with public insurance such as Medicaid reported experiencing transportation barriers, which according to Jiang, was quite surprising.

“Medicaid, which is one of the most common (types of) public insurance that our cancer survivors are carrying, actually mandates a method of transportation. So Medicaid patients should not have this issue because they are already covered,” he explained. “This is basically telling us either they’re not getting the resources that are there, they don’t know they are there or that what they are providing might not be accommodating to their needs.”

These are not the only gaps in this space, Jiang said. The survey only asked survivors if they had a delay in health care, not whether they had to forgo it all together, which some may have done. They are often asked to make appointments ahead of time, but they may not know if they are going to have accessible transportation. Or cancer survivors counting on taking a bus to an appointment may arrive late if the bus is delayed. This may cause some to have to reschedule an appointment.

Of note, this was an observational study, meaning Jiang and colleagues looked at past survey results and created their own conclusion.

Jiang suggests that cancer survivors who are experiencing these barriers and delays should talk with their doctors and social workers to see what resources may be available.

“I think it’s just really an understudied issue,” Jiang concluded. “My study is probably one of the few studies in this field, and I think we just need to keep working on this.”

Unreliable public transportation or limited access to a working vehicle may lead to delays in important follow-up care for cancer survivors.

Cancer Survivors Need a Ride

Megan McKinney-Dyson was shocked when she received a diagnosis of stage 3b colon cancer in 2021. She was just 42 years old and the mother of two young boys. After undergoing surgery and six months of chemotherapy, she is now cancer-free. 

However, the treatment left her with neuropathy, which, according to the American Cancer Society, is a condition that causes pain, numbness and tingling in the hands and feet.

Although her doctor warned her that neuropathy was a potential side effect of her treatment, she wasn’t fully prepared for long-term pain and discomfort. 

“Neuropathy is the biggest thing that I still have to this day,” McKinney-Dyson says. “It’s like constant pins and needles. It’s very painful.”

She tried medication, but it didn’t provide the relief she was seeking. In addition, “I didn’t like the side effects of the medicine because it made me really tired,” she says. So McKinney-Dyson turned to alternative treatments such as occupational and physical therapy.

The gap in survivorship research means that patients such as McKinney-Dyson often have difficulty getting the care they need after finishing treatment. 

Peripheral Neuropathy Is 'Underestimated' in Patients Undergoing Cancer Treatment

“The growing numbers of cancer survivors are outstripping the capacity of cancer care systems to keep pace with demand,” Dr. Aisha Ahmed, an oncologist at Arizona Oncology in Tucson, says. 

“Primary care physicians may not be adequately prepared to care for these survivors due to perceived knowledge gaps about the individualized needs, risks and surveillance plans for cancer survivors,” Ahmed says. This is especially true for patients who are living with long-term side effects of their treatment.

Cancer treatment often involves powerful drugs that can damage the nerves, resulting in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). Although any type of cancer treatment can cause neuropathy, some drugs are more likely to cause the condition.

“Certain types of chemotherapy drugs are neurotoxic,” says Dr. Kord Kober, an associate professor of physiological nursing at the University of California, San Francisco. “Unfortunately, two of the most common types of neurotoxic chemotherapies, platinum and taxane compounds, are used to treat some of the most common cancers — breast, gastrointestinal, lung, gynecologic.”

The condition can develop during treatment and persist long after treatment has ended. “Due to the lack of prospective longitudinal studies that have evaluated the onset and persistence of CIPN, we do not know the recovery rates for CIPN,” Kober says. 

For McKinney-Dyson, the neuropathy affects the way she uses her hands and feet. 

“For the longest time I couldn’t explain (the sensation),” she says. She describes it as “the worst feeling you’ve ever felt, for something you can’t feel,” meaning that she experiences the sensation of pain even though no physical stimuli are causing it.

McKinney-Dyson, who is an elementary school teacher, has had to adjust the way she does her job. Tying shoes, zipping jackets, buttoning clothes and even writing can be extremely painful. “I have to take more frequent breaks when I’m writing,” she says. Typing is also difficult, and she often relies on her husband’s help with many daily tasks.

CIPN is a relatively new field of study, and there is still much unknown about the condition. Kober works to increase awareness and understanding of CIPN to improve patient outcomes. 

Results of a study he co-authored and is published in the 

, which focused on paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy in cancer survivors, found that patients treated with paclitaxel chemotherapy had more problems with balance, the function of their upper extremities and more severe symptoms than patients who were not treated with the drug. 

Results of the study also showed that those treated with paclitaxel had reduced quality of life scores in both physical and psychological domains. 

found that body mass index may be a modifiable risk factor for the severity of chemotherapy-induced neuropathy. Research results show that survivors with a higher body mass index had more severe symptoms of neuropathy. This finding is significant because it suggests there may be ways to mitigate the severity of the condition with lifestyle and diet changes.

Mark Kantrowitz, a survivor of stage 3 testicular seminoma and author of “Tumor Humor: Cancer Jokes and Anecdotes,” has CIPN, even though it has been nearly two decades since his treatment ended.

After performing a self-exam at home in 2003 at the age of 36, Kantrowitz 

found a lump on his testicle. His doctor scheduled an ultrasound for two weeks later, and the results confirmed that the mass was cancerous. 

Kantrowitz began treatment immediately. He underwent orchiectomy surgery to remove his testicles and three cycles of chemotherapy and was treated with a combination of bleomycin, etoposide and cisplatin. He credits his research skills for helping him understand his diagnosis and treatment options throughout the process. 

Aside from his longterm CIPN, Kantrowitz experienced many rare side effects and complications, including chemo-induced pancreatitis and gallstones, high-pitch hearing loss, Raynaud’s phenomenon (decreased blood flow in the fingers) and diabetes.

The neuropathy has caused him to experience numbness and tingling in his hands and feet, as well as muscle weakness. His symptoms are very noticeable when he walks, and he uses a cane to get around. 

“In my case, it mostly affected my feet, though occasionally it would affect the first three fingers on each hand,” he says.

“It’s like wearing a pair of gloves on my feet,” Kantrowitz says of the sensation. “At the same time,there is a burning and tingling sensation, sometimes really severe.” He describes the feeling as being similar to when the foot falls asleep and then begins to wake up. “Multiply that by 10 and that’s the sensation of neuropathy I experience,” he says.

According to research published by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the effects of CIPN can last for years. Of 986 respondents to a 2020 ASCO survey, 77% reported current symptoms of CIPN, with the average respondent being more than three years post treatment.

McKinney-Dyson and Kantrowitz discovered ways to cope with their CIPN. McKinney-Dyson has made changes to her lifestyle and the way she completes everyday tasks. Although she didn’t do well with the medication, six weeks of occupational and physical therapy helped her gain back some of the function she’d lost.

“For patients with cancer who are experiencing CIPN following treatment, there are some prescription medications that can be used to improve symptoms. One of them is duloxetine,” Ahmed says. According to Kober, duloxetine is the only proven treatment for CIPN, but there are limited benefits to taking the medication.

Gabriela Miller, an oncology physiotherapist and owner of ACE Cancer Rehab in Mission, Kansas, works with cancer survivors before, during and after chemotherapy to help them manage treatment side effects such as neuropathy. She recommends patients with CIPN start by working with a physical therapist experienced in cancer-related side effects to help them regain function and strength as soon as possible.

“CIPN is a very real and common side effect following chemotherapy that can have a huge impact on patients’ quality of life,” Miller says. “People who experience neuropathy have decreased sensation and circulation in their feet, which puts them at risk for falling or sustaining a soft tissue injury. If the foot is injured, they run the risk of not feeling the injury, which can potentially make the wound worse.”

The effect that CIPN has on a patient’s life can be profound, with many risks and dangers that are often overlooked. 

“Another danger is increased risk of falling since the balance and sensation are impaired. We also see decreased muscle strength in the muscles of the toes, which further increases fall risk,” Miller says.

Miller suggests patients with cancer consult with an oncology physical therapist as early as possible — even before treatment starts. “This way, we can detect and manage symptoms of neuropathy and educate the person on what to look for and how to improve their sensation and balance,” she says. 

She emphasizes that exercises to improve circulation and sensation, as well as balance training, are important components of therapy. Learning how to manage symptoms and risks prevent falls or other injuries associated with this neuropathy. 

Kantrowitz, who did not take medication for his CIPN symptoms, found that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Although he also has issues with daily tasks such as typing, he relies on proofreading software and spelling algorithms to help him. When asked what lifestyle changes have helped alleviate his symptoms, Kantrowitz says, “Nothing really helps.”

Despite that, having a positive attitude and high pain tolerance have boosted him through some of the darkest days. 

“I’ve learned that I can work through the pain,” he says. “I have a constant burning sensation in my feet 24/7.” He frequently uses distraction techniques to take his mind off the discomfort. He’s learned that his mind is a powerful tool for overcoming many obstacles, including neuropathy. “If I don’t focus on it, I can ignore it,” he says.

Kantrowitz and McKinney-Dyson both agree that the lifesaving treatment was worth the side effects. 

“In my cancer joke book, “Tumor Humor,” I joke that it’s better to be alive with side effects than dead without,” Kantrowitz says. “I still would have had the same treatment. There really isn’t anything I could have done differently.” 

There is much to learn about CIPN and scientists are working hard to find new ways to prevent and treat the side effect. Ahmed and Kober are hopeful that new medications and treatments will be developed to help those with this debilitating condition. Several ongoing clinical trials are testing new and advanced therapies.

“In terms of pharmacology, there are numerous clinical trials under way to evaluate for drug therapeutics to prevent and treat CIPN,” Kober says. 

Scrambler therapy is one of the pain management techniques being studied. It uses electrical stimulation to “scramble” the pain signals being sent from the nerves to the brain. Although the study is still in the early phase, Ahmed is optimistic about the treatment’s potential.

“Scrambler therapy is an emerging treatment approach that appears to benefit some affected patients with CIPN,” she says. “Small studies have suggested that scrambler therapy can reduce chemotherapy-induced neuropathy symptoms, even if symptoms have been present for more than one year.” 

It’s a small ray of hope and something that patients such as McKinney-Dyson and Kantrowitz can hold on to. Kantrowitz recommends other survivors speak to their doctor about any side effects they may be experiencing, even years after treatment has ended.

Although there is little relief available to cancer survivors experiencing neuropathy, hope may be on the horizon. 

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: The Invisible Side Effect

Fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber, and they offer many protective health benefits to cancer survivors.

Summer is a great time of year to find fruits and vegetables in their prime, making recipes even more delicious and nutritious.

As part of its Heal at Home series, CURE® and its sister publication Heal® worked with registered dietitian Rachel Wong, of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C., to compile multiple recipes for our readers.

From a tasty guacamole to a delicious chimichurri, below is a step-by-step guide to create these nutrient-packed sauces and dips that are sure to complement any dish this summer.

This dressing with Mediterranean flair is great on salads, sandwiches, falafel pita, roasted vegetables and so much more.

Recipe adapted from themediterraneandish.com

1 to 2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced or crushed)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice

1 medium bunch of chopped cilantro or parsley, stems removed

Add all ingredients except the water to a food processer and blend.

Add a little bit of the water at a time and blend until the dressing reaches the desired consistency.

Transfer dressing to a serving bowl and enjoy!

Originating in South America, chimichurri typically is used on grilled meat but adds a flavor punch to salads, roasted vegetables, potatoes, rice and sandwiches.

Recipe adapted from feastingathome.com and Bon Appetit

1 shallot or ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped

1 Fresno chile or red jalapeño, finely chopped (optional)

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for desired consistency

Place shallot (or onion), chile (or jalapeño) and garlic in food processer and chop.

Add cilantro, oregano and parsley. Pulse again until mixed in well.

Transfer mixture to a medium bowl and add vinegar, lime juice, salt, pepper and ½ cup of the olive oil. Stir. Add in more salt and olive oil until desired consistency and taste.

Let mixture sit at least 10 minutes before serving. Chimichurri will keep up to 4 days in a sealed jar in the refrigerator.

Guacamole is always a favorite dip for chips, but try it on top of salads and burrito bowls.

2 dried chipotle chiles, finely crushed, stems discarded

2 diced medium avocados, pitted and skins removed

Heat olive oil in a medium skillet. Over medium heat, sauté shallot, crushed chipotle chiles and half of the tomatoes until softened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Place aside and allow to cool completely.

In a medium bowl, mix together avocados, onion, serrano chile, lime juice and remaining tomatoes. Add the cooled shallot mixture and fold in diced mango and chopped cilantro. Add salt to taste. Serve immediately.

As part of its Heal at Home series, CURE® worked with a registered dietitian from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to put together several cancer-friendly dishes that everyone can enjoy this summer.

Heal^® Summer 2022

Cancer Survivors May Be the Best Advocates

How Mindfulness Meditation May Help Ease Stress and Anxiety in Cancer Survivors, and Where to Start

I'm a Cancer Survivor... What Now?

Cancer Survivors Need a Ride

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: The Invisible Side Effect

Cool Off From a Hot Summer With These Cancer-Friendly Recipes

Latest News

Heal® Summer 2022

Cancer Survivors May Be the Best Advocates

How Mindfulness Meditation May Help Ease Stress and Anxiety in Cancer Survivors, and Where to Start

I'm a Cancer Survivor... What Now?

Cancer Survivors Need a Ride

Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: The Invisible Side Effect

Cool Off From a Hot Summer With These Cancer-Friendly Recipes

Latest News

Heal^® Summer 2022