Amber Kleckner, PhD, assistant professor, theorizes that time-restricted eating can help mitigate cancer-related fatigue through strengthening circadian rhythms.
Can when you eat reduce cancer-related fatigue? The University of Maryland School of Nursing’s Amber Kleckner, PhD, assistant professor, aims to find out, with support from a four-year, $1.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute. She is examining the role that time-restricted eating plays on reducing cancer-related fatigue and other side effects of treatments.
Cancer is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the world. With technological advances in treatments over the last few decades, there are more cancer survivors than ever. However, many people live with persistent symptoms such as cancer-related fatigue.
“We still do not understand the underlying mechanisms of cancer-related fatigue and other related symptoms,” Kleckner says. “This makes it difficult to discover preventive treatments for these ailments. Despite widespread dietary recommendations and supplements for patients with cancer in the media, there are very few evidence-based dietary guidelines. We are helping to define what dietary patterns are best during and after treatment so that people can tolerate treatment and heal from the experience as fast as possible.”
People undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and other cancer treatments endure a large symptom burden, including fatigue, cognitive impairment, pain, and gastrointestinal issues – challenges that persist long after treatment ends and can sometimes prevent people from returning to work, family roles, hobbies, and other activities that really define their sense of self. Treating the side effects of cancer drugs with other drugs can have their own side effects. But nutritional interventions can improve overall health, enhance the ability to heal, and increase resilience against further adverse conditions.
Based on a large and growing body of research into nutrition and cancer, Kleckner designs and tests nutritional programs to help address these symptoms and help people attain the quality of life they had before their cancer diagnoses. These programs include both what people are eating and when people are eating.