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But behind the foodie fun is hard science and a real clinical conundrum. Killing cancer cells means killing healthy cells along with them. The poisons of chemo and the waves of radiation are especially good at taking apart the DNA of fast-dividing cells. That can help stop the out-of-control expansion of tumors. But the nerve cells in the nose and mouth replenish themselves quickly, and so they die, too. The resulting changes in taste and smell might seem like a small price to pay for a lifesaving treatment. Yet one’s desire to get up in the morning can be intimately connected to one’s ability to enjoy food. Lose your ability to taste properly and your mental and physical health — which, for cancer patients, is already fragile — can suffer even more. (Boodman, 12/21)

What happens when doctors encourage patients to decide for themselves what kind of cancer treatment they should receive — and then the patients make the wrong choice? That is the dilemma facing a growing number of surgeons who care for women with early-stage breast cancer, new research suggests. (Kaplan, 12/21)

Three weeks before her wedding day, Cheyann Shaw uploaded a video to YouTube, a space the fitness fanatic regularly filled with workout clips and health tips. But this time was different: She was now using the social video platform for a more emotional and profound purpose. “I’m going to cry,” she said in the video, “but — I was told that I have cancer.” (Bever, 12/21)