Colorectal cancer survivors’ beliefs on nutrition and cancer; correlates with nutritional information provision

PURPOSE: To investigate CRC survivors’ beliefs on nutrition and cancer and the association with nutritional information provision by (kind and number) of health professionals and to inquire about foods that CRC survivors believed either had a positive or negative influence on their cancer. METHODS: A total of 326 CRC survivors of an ongoing prospective cohort study filled out questionnaires 1 month after surgery on whether they had received nutritional information from health professionals. Also, their beliefs that nutrition influences (1) feelings of well-being, (2) complaints after treatment, (3) recovery and (4) cancer recurrence were investigated. Prevalence ratios were calculated (using Cox proportional hazard regression analysis) to study associations between information provision and the four beliefs adjusted for age, gender and cancer stage. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of respondents received information about nutrition from one or more health professionals. Most respondents who received information strongly believe nutrition influences feelings of well-being (59%) and recovery after cancer (62%). Compared with those who did not receive information, respondents who received information from three professionals showed the strongest beliefs on the influence of nutrition on complaints after treatment (PR 3.4; 95% CI 1.6–7.4), recovery after treatment (PR 2.0; 95% CI 1.2–3.3) and recurrence (PR 2.8; 95% CI 1.3–6.2). CONCLUSION: Nutritional information provision by health professionals positively influences the beliefs of CRC survivors on the influence of nutrition on cancer outcomes: stronger beliefs occur when respondents received information from three health professionals.