Apr 4, 2006 By Josh Krysak 4 min read

While cancer experts and medical officials are celebrating the first decline in cancer death rates in 70 years, most still caution that the incidence of the deadly disease continues to grow each year and the only way to combat the illness is through preventative lifestyle change. One such expert, Heather Marscio, clinical nutrition manager and registered dietician at the Uniontown Hospital, is doing her part to try and break longstanding habits of area residents and reverse the deadly course the disease has taken.

The Youngstown State University grad has manned the massive food service at the hospital for three years, oversees all meals at the facility and works to try and provide the best diet for cancer patients.

“I think people are becoming more aware and are becoming more proactive rather than reactive,” Marscio said. “But we need to be more health conscious.”

Marscio said obesity is a growing problem across the county and said that doctors have determined links between America’s fat epidemic and cancer.

“Diet and exercise go hand in hand for everyone,” Marscio said. “Remaining physically active and staying fit is very important for cancer prevention.”

And Marscio’s call to healthier living might not be falling on deaf ears, despite the country’s turn toward a fast-food mentality in the last two decades.

According to a new study released by Beverage Digest and reported in the New York Times, for the first time in 20 years, sales of Coca-Cola Classic and Pepsi declined, by 2 percent and 3.2 percent respectively.

Even diet soda sales declined in 2005, though by a smaller margin, according to the study. And the survey also found bottled water sales trending higher.

In another study released by the National Association of Attorneys General in early March, cigarette sales fell 4.2 percent in 2005 to reach a 55-year low.

According to the study, sales of cigarettes, a leading cause of cancer, have fallen 21 percent over the last eight years.

While Marscio, along with all area doctors agreed that not smoking is one of the biggest factors in preventing cancer, diet and exercise are simple ways area residents can enhance their chances of remaining cancer-free.

Marscio said she does not endorse the word “diet” but rather encourages patients to make changes that will last a lifetime and lead to better health.

She said to prevent being diagnosed with cancer, people should try to eat as many plant-based foods as possible and eat a wide variety of colors, from green beans to red peppers to yellow squash, with each color providing different essential nutrients.

“To bring down cancer incident rates from a nutrition perspective, a diet and lifestyle change is necessary. People need to get their weight under control,” she said. “About 30 percent of cancer deaths are linked to diet. Eating is such a normal part of everyday life that people just don’t realize how much it affects them.”

Marscio also noted that she recommends patients diagnosed with cancer try to eat at least five fruits and vegetables every day, foods that are high in fiber and protein and plant-based foods.

Marscio said for cancer patients, her advice differs from other patients because weight loss and energy loss are critical detractors in the fight to beat the disease.

“You do not want to lose weight with cancer,” Marscio said. “If a patient will eat a candy bar and that is all he wants then he eats candy bars. With cancer eating food is fuel.”

But for the incident rate to begin to level off and eventually fall, Americans need to change the way they view their diets and the daily routines, Marscio said.

“They just need to change their lifestyle,” Marscio said.