  Citation: O’Callaghan, N.; Douglas, P.; Keaver, L. Nutrition Practices among Adult Cancer Survivors Living on the Island of Ireland: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients 2022, 14, 767. https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu14040767 Academic Editor: Keisuke Hagihara Received: 30 December 2021 Accepted: 9 February 2022 Published: 11 February 2022 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). nutrients Article Nutrition Practices among Adult Cancer Survivors Living on the Island of Ireland: A Cross-Sectional Study Niamh O’Callaghan 1 , Pauline Douglas 2 and Laura Keaver 1, * 1 Department of Health and Nutritional Science, Institute of Technology Sligo, Ash Lane, F91 YW50 Sligo, Ireland; niamh.ocallaghan@mail.itsligo.ie 2 Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UK; pl.douglas@ulster.ac.uk * Correspondence: keaver.laura@itsligo.ie Abstract: The purpose of this research was to explore the nutrition practices among post-treatment cancer survivors across Ireland. Cancer survivors aged 18+ years living across Ireland, who were not palliative and had completed active cancer treatment at least six months previous, were recruited to complete an online survey assessing dietary quality, food choice and satisfaction with food-related life as well as clinical and nutrition status. It was circulated by cancer support networks and on social media. Descriptive statistics are presented. The cohort (n = 170) was predominantly female (85.9%) and had breast cancer (64.7%). Mean age was 51.5 ± 10.9 years and 42.7% of the cohort were >five years post-treatment. Only 20% and 12% of the cohort had been assessed by a dietitian during and post-treatment, respectively. The mean dietary quality score was 10.3 ± 1.7, which was measured by the Leeds short-form food frequency questionnaire (SFFFQ). Using a 5-point Likert scale, the median satisfaction with food-related life score was 19 (3.3), which evaluates cognitive judgements on the person’s food-related life. The food choice questionnaire (FCQ) assesses the relative importance of a range of factors related to dietary choice to individuals. The primary determinant of food choice in this cohort was the natural content (31.7%) followed by health (24.7%). Vitamin and mineral supplement use was reported by 69.8% of the cohort; the most consumed was Vitamin D. Four themes emerged from an optional open-ended question: awareness of nutritional importance; desire for specific nutritional advice and dietetic referral; cancer and treatment nutrition impacts were highlighted; as well as struggles with weight gain. This research provides useful insight into the nutrition practices of Irish cancer survivors. A desire and need for individualised and specific advice are evident. Keywords: cancer survivor; nutrition; diet quality; food choice; supplement 1. Introduction In Ireland, there are more than 200,000 individuals living with or beyond cancer, equating to almost 4% of the total population [1]. In the next 25 years, this figure is expected to double due to demographics, earlier detection, and improved treatment outcomes [1]. The need to recognise the individual and distinct needs of cancer survivors throughout Ireland has been highlighted by the government through the development of the National Cancer Strategy 2017–2026 [2]. For this study, the definition from this strategy will be utilized, where “a cancer survivor is a person with any type of cancer who has undergone treatment, completed the intervention and is living” [2]. The strategy emphasizes how cancer survivorship is a distinct phase of the cancer journey and how the needs of cancer survivors have not been prioritised to date. The supporting documents of this strategy include a report titled the Acute Sector Cancer Survivorship Services in the Irish Context from the National Cancer Control Programme [3] and a scoping review by both the National Registry and the Irish Cancer Society [4]. Evidently, survivorship care is increasingly Nutrients 2022, 14, 767. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14040767 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients