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Supporting a Loved One with Cancer: Meaningful Gift Ideas from Iris
Finding the right gift for someone facing cancer can be a meaningful way to show you care. While traditional gestures like flowers or cards are appreciated, gifts that prioritize comfort, well-being, and practicality can have an even greater impact. At Iris, we’ve...
In the Kitchen with Stephanie: When Food Doesn’t Taste the Same
When food tastes different during treatment, small changes can make a big difference. Join oncology dietitian Stephanie Meyers for a live cooking demo and learn simple ways to bring flavor back to your meals.
In the Kitchen with Stephanie: Carbohydrates
Join us for a virtual cooking demo with Iris’s oncology dietitian, Stephanie Meyers! This month, Stephanie will demonstrate how to make Iris’s Sunrise Carrot Cookies; a nutrient-rich, lightly sweet breakfast, snack, or dessert made with fiber-rich ingredients like carrots, oats, whole wheat flour, and raisins.
In the Kitchen with Stephanie: Food vs. Supplements
Join us for a virtual cooking demo with Iris’s oncology dietitian, Stephanie Meyers! This month, we’re making Sweet & Savory Glazed Tempeh—a protein-rich, fermented food that supports gut health and digestion.
Organic: Can I Eat This When I Have Cancer?
Brought to you by our Iris Care Team oncology expert, Stephanie Meyers, Registered Dietitian and Licensed Nutritionist, this virtual event takes a comprehensive look at the evidence about how organic and conventional eating patterns impact cancer.
Nutrition by Diagnosis: Lung Cancer
This virtual event covers themes like lack of appetite and how to manage mouth sores and difficulty swallowing. Providing specific tips and recipes when presented with lung cancer.
Nutrition by Diagnosis: GI Cancer
This on demand event features the latest research and practical guidance on what to eat when you are dealing with gastrointestinal (GI) cancer, (specifically esophageal, gastric, or colorectal cancer).
Diagnosis & Treatment
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What Your Oncology Team Wants You to Know
Cancer is complex. And given that doctors and specialists lead your care, it’s easy to forget that you are the most...
How to Prepare for Your Treatment Appointment
Now that you have a cancer treatment or infusion appointment scheduled, preparing for the visit and how you might feel in the days following your treatment is an important next step. Whether this is your first treatment, or last, getting support, knowing what to...
Tips for Side Effects
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It’s Getting Hot in Here! Tips for Managing Hot Flashes
Hot flashes are a sudden increase in the warmth of your body, often primarily your face, neck, and chest. Hot flashes...
Cancer-Related Fatigue: Tips for Keeping Up Your Energy
Many people with cancer experience decreased energy, also known as fatigue. The wide range of emotional and physical effects of cancer often means your energy “tank” can be low. Information about cancer-related fatigue and practical tips for improving your energy...
Difficulty Sleeping and What You Can Do About It
It can be hard to get enough restful sleep when you’re living with cancer. From the emotional toll, cancer can take to sleep-interfering side effects of treatment, many people with cancer find that getting much-needed rest isn’t always easy. The tips below will help...
Nutrition
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Supplementing with Smoothies During Cancer Care
Homemade smoothies can help you deal with eating challenges related to cancer and the side effects of treatment....
Impactful Snacks and Mini Meals to Meet Nutritional Needs
Side effects of cancer treatment can include loss of appetite, food aversions, early fullness, and a general lack of interest in eating. You may find it easier to eat smaller meals or snacks more frequently throughout the day rather than three sizable meals. Think of...
Staying Hydrated During Cancer Care
Staying well hydrated during cancer treatment is extremely important, for both your ability to tolerate treatment and quality of life. About 60% of the body is water, which plays a critical role in many vital functions, including regulating heart rate, blood pressure,...
Diarrhea and Cancer: How and What to Eat
Many people living with cancer experience diarrhea — either as a side effect of treatment or a symptom of their cancer. Diarrhea can cause daily disruptions and lifestyle changes, but with preventative and nutrition-based management strategies, it can often be...
Eating Well During Treatment
Eating well during cancer treatment is an important part of your overall treatment plan. Keeping up with your nutrition can have many benefits, as maintaining healthy body weight and keeping strength up can even help mitigate the side effects of treatment. In a...
Navigating Emotions
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Enjoying Vacation Moments Throughout the Year
Sunsets, BBQs, and beach reads. Leaving your phone behind, walking barefoot, and moving through the day without a...
10 Tips for Coping with Cancer
Going through cancer is a tough experience for most people, and no two experiences of cancer are identical. The same is true of how people cope with cancer. Many people with cancer find the need to fine-tune their coping skills to help with cancer-related emotions,...
Dealing with Anxiety When Coping with Cancer
Teresa, a 24-year-old who was just diagnosed with breast cancer, was stunned. She immediately began to worry, felt uneasy, became nervous, and was overwhelmed with a sense of dread – all normal feelings of anxiety. Teresa’s reaction to her cancer diagnosis is not...
Quieting Cancer-Related Stress: The Art of Relaxation
Some people coping with cancer may find themselves in a state of chronic stress. The relaxation response is a powerful tool to reduce stress and improve overall well-being. You can reach this state of calm through focused mental attention and a passive attitude toward...
Everyday Support
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Supporting a Loved One with Cancer: Meaningful Gift Ideas from Iris
Finding the right gift for someone facing cancer can be a meaningful way to show you care. While traditional gestures...
What This Body Image Expert Wants Everyone with Cancer to Know
Dr. Michelle Fingeret has spent the last 18 years providing body image counseling to adult cancer survivors. As a psychologist specializing in body image and cancer, she’s worked extensively in both outpatient and inpatient settings providing therapy to individuals,...
3 Different Ways to Rekindle the Spark
Sex isn’t exactly a topic we’re used to openly discussing with others — even with those closest to us. Neither is the embarrassment, shame, or even guilt that sex after cancer may bring up. Thoughts like, “I know I should just be grateful I’m alive” and “What If I...
How to Share Your Cancer Diagnosis at Work
Sharing your cancer diagnosis with others is an incredibly personal decision. Without a roadmap to follow, you might be wondering: Will I lose my job or my health insurance benefits? Will my boss or coworkers be supportive? Will taking time off impact my work...
What to Say (and Not to Say) to Someone with Cancer
Iris peer mentor Bethany was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive cancer at 30 years old. When she started losing her hair, she recalls one friend nervously saying, “At least now you don’t have to fix it before you go out!” At the time, Bethany was able to...
Family & Community
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Doing the Holidays Differently
The holidays are supposed to be the happiest time of the year. But for many people, especially those living with...
Sharing Information About Your Cancer with Other People
Cancer brings many changes and with it the need to share information with others. Deciding if and how to share cancer-related information can be challenging. At times you may feel motivated to share details of your cancer with others, but at other times you may feel...
Caring for Yourself While Caregiving
When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer it can have a significant impact on the entire family, especially the primary caregiver. A primary caregiver is an individual who holds responsibility for the mental and physical well-being of a person in need. Many family...
5 Ways to Support Your Loved Ones Through Your Cancer Treatment
A cancer diagnosis can be frightening for you, but the reverberation of the news extends to your loved ones as well. While they may all be concerned about you as you cope with cancer, they also need support from you. People living with cancer often have concerns about...
Adapting to Cancer as a Family
Families come in various shapes and sizes. For some, intimate partners and children may serve as a family, while for others, extended family and close friends may be considered primary sources of support. Regardless of whom you consider to be your family, it’s...