CUMBERLAND — “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” Hippocrates once said.
Those words are the very foundation of a new program to be offered by the Allegany County Public Library System.
Nurse practitioner Cathy Chapman will offer a four-week class titled “Let’s Beat Breast Cancer” that is designed to be life changing.
The class, based on the Food for life Program, will guide attendees on how to eat and prepare foods to prevent cancer occurrence, lessen the incidence of cancer recurrence and improve cancer survival. Chapman does not just teach the healthy eating/cooking methods, she lives them each day. She began her journey of eating a vegetarian and then later a vegan diet over 35 years ago.
Chapman is a retired family practice and psychiatric nurse practitioner. After retirement, she completed the Forks over Knives, Essential Vegan Desserts and Plant Based Professional courses through Rouxbe Online Culinary School. She also obtained a certificate in Plant Based Nutrition from The Center for Nutritional Studies at Cornell University. In addition, she also became a master gardener through the University of Maryland Extension office.
According to Chapman, the Food for Life Program began in 2001 with the Cancer Project Series to provide nutrition education and cooking classes to help prevent cancer occurrence, lessen the incidence of cancer recurrence and improve cancer survival. The classes were so successful that the program expanded to provide nutrition education and cooking classes for other serious health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity. The classes are created by physicians, dietitians and nurses, as well as other health care experts and encourage a more plant forward way of eating. The information shared is evidence based, which means it is based on credible up-to-date research.
“The Let’s Beat Breast Cancer Class is for every woman that has breasts. It was designed specifically to provide information related to breast cancer prevention for both an initial breast cancer occurrence or a return of a previous breast cancer. All women with breasts are at risk for developing breast cancer,” Chapman said. “Sometimes individuals have a strong family history of breast cancer and are concerned about developing breast cancer themselves. Or they may have already been treated for breast cancer and are wanting to prevent a return of the cancer. This class is for all women.”
Statistics predict that 1 out of every 8 women will develop breast cancer in the United States. The National Cancer Institute estimates that only about 10% of breast cancer cases are genetic — the remaining 90% of cancer cases stem from environmental and lifestyle factors that are potentially modifiable. The Let’s Beat Breast Cancer class helps to provide education to modify some of the lifestyle factors.
“This class will discuss the impact of our food choices and share information on how to make healthier choices that lessen our risk for breast cancer. Each class has a cooking demonstration and food sampling to show that cooking healthy isn’t hard and that healthy food can be delicious! Participants will leave with recipes and educational material.”
Chapman will be leading these classes beginning Oct. 3 at the LaVale Library. Classes will follow Oct. 17, 24 and 31 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Topics include: How Foods Fight Cancer; Fueling Up On Low-Fat, High-Fiber Foods; Discovering Dairy and Meat Alternatives; and Foods and Breast Cancer Survival. To register, email smorse@alleganylibrary.info.
Chapman said she has been looking forward to offering the class and its invaluable information for some time and is grateful for the Allegany County Library System for partnering with her.
Chapman plans to offer additional classes in the coming year. Classes will be posted on her website at https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/plant-based-diets/ffl/instructors/cathy-chapman.