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Registered dietitians Gayle Black and Louise Henry have been awarded the Elizabeth Washington Award 2009 for their contribution of a chapter on nutrition support in stem cell transplant patients to Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, published in 2009.
The Elizabeth Washington Award is conferred in recognition of a piece of published educational work within the fields of dietetics and nutrition. The dietitians, who both work at The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, were presented with the award by the British Dietetic Association (BDA) at a ceremony during their Annual Conference in Manchester on 16 September.
Patients' diet
Maintaining good nutritional status is extremely important for transplant patients. Malnourished patients may have an increased mortality and length of hospital stay following transplantation. Active nutrition support using both food and artificial nutrition support is necessary in preventing and reversing weight loss and helping the blood and immune system to recover.
High dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation are now routinely used in the treatment of certain types of cancer. At this time patients become more vulnerable to food-borne infections and may suffer from side effects such as nausea and mucositis, making it difficult to eat an adequate diet. Dietitians play a vital role in the education of these patients and their carers in all aspects of nutrition, both in hospital and at home after discharge.
Challenging area of oncology
Gayle Black, Senior Specialist Dietitian, said: “Working in this challenging area of oncology dietetics has allowed me to gain first-hand experience of the nutrition-related issues in this patient group. I enjoyed reviewing the evidence and putting down in black and white what makes up much of my day to day work.”
Louise Henry continued: “The chapter illustrates the essential contribution nutrition support makes to patients undergoing stem cell transplantation. By examining the role of nutrition support and dietary restrictions for immunocompromised patients we have illustrated the unique skills a dietitian has for putting nutrition information into context for patients and their carers, and showing how to make practical changes to what and how they eat and drink to maximise treatment, quality of life and recovery.
“We were absolutely thrilled to hear that we’d won and have the professional recognition of our peers. It was a lot of hard work but it was worth it, and I hope it makes a real difference to patient treatment in this field.”
