Dietary Research in Blood Cancers: Exploring the Impact of a Plant-Based Diet image

Dietary Research in Blood Cancers: Exploring the Impact of a Plant-Based Diet

Aug 29, 2024
02:00PM - 03:00PM EDT
Online Event
Overview

Can a plant based diet affect your overall health? Can it affect your blood cancer progression or time to relapse? What does the science say about it, and what questions still need to be answered? Dr. Urvi Shah, Francesca Castro, MS, RDN, CDN, and Jenny Ahlstrom, HealthTree Founder and CEO will join us to discuss these topics and the Nutrivention studies that aim to answer these questions and more. Come ready to learn from the experts and hear about how you can become a cure contributor.

HealthTree is working with Dr. Urvi Shah's team at MSK in "Nutrivention-2", a national, multi-arm, randomized prospective telehealth study. This study will explore the microbial changes in response to a plant-based diet and supplements in smoldering myeloma patients. You can learn more about it HERE. If you're interested and want more information, please contact our support team - support@healthtree.org.

Highlights
Agenda
2:00 PM
Introductions
Cynthia Cahoon, RN

Cynthia introduces the agenda of the event and featured speakers Dr. Urvi Shah, Francesca Castro and Jenny Ahlstrom

2:05 PM
Presentation
Urvi Shah, MD

 Dr. Shah speaks about her experience with nutrition as a blood cancer patient

2:20 PM
Presentation
Dr. Shah and Francesca Castro

Dr. Shah & Francesca share about the Nutrivention study for myeloma patients

2:35 PM
Presentation
Jenny Ahlstrom

Jenny talks about HealthTree’s Research: Advancing Cures

2:45 PM
Questions and Answers
Audience

Type your questions in the chat and we will answer them! 

Speakers & Moderators
Healthtree contact Cynthia Cahoon, RN

Cynthia Cahoon, RN

Cynthia is a newborn ICU nurse by trade that has spent the last six years in the medical device industry educating nurses and doctors about devices that are new to their facility. In her spare time she enjoys hiking, traveling the world with her family, and creating Halloween animatronics for her annual front yard display. She has a passion for life-long learning and enjoys sharing what she learns with the people around her.
Healthtree contact Urvi Shah, MD

Urvi Shah, MD

Dr. Urvi Shah is a faculty on the myeloma service, division of hematologic malignancies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her research focuses on studying the role of diet, microbiome, and other lifestyle-related risk factors in plasma cell disorders as well as identifying interventions to improve outcomes for these patients. She also studies immune therapies (including CAR T cell therapies) for myeloma. Being a lymphoma survivor herself she is passionate about helping patients make wise nutritional and lifestyle choices as they face a plasma cell disorder diagnosis as well as raising awareness about healthy choices to prevent cancer.
Healthtree contact Jenny Ahlstrom

Jenny Ahlstrom

Myeloma survivor, patient advocate, wife, mom of 6. Believer that patients can help accelerate a cure by weighing in and participating in clinical research. Founder of the HealthTree Foundation.
Healthtree contact Francesca Castro, MS, RD, CDN

Francesca Castro, MS, RD, CDN

Francesca is a level III research clinical dietitian nutritionist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where she joined the myeloma service in 2021 under Dr. Urvi Shah to focus on dietary intervention clinical trials. Her interests include the impact of dietary choices on both cancer prevention and progression, gastrointestinal microbiome, and evidence-based clinical nutrition care. Francesca completed her Master of Science in Nutrition and Exercise Physiology at Teachers College, Columbia University and Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science at the University of Central Florida. She is a registered dietitian-nutritionist (RDN) with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a certified dietitian-nutritionist (CDN) within the state of New York. During her free time, she likes to try new recipes and go to the park with her dog, Rigatoni.