Is it true that cancer feeds on sugar? If yes how so?

No it is not true. Its considered an urban legend or myth.

Debunking cancer myths: An interview with a Mayo Clinic specialist

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/HO/00033.html

"Sugar doesn't make cancer grow faster. All cells, including cancer cells, depend on blood sugar (glucose) for energy. But giving more sugar to cancer cells doesn't speed their growth. Likewise, depriving cancer cells of sugar doesn't slow their growth.

This misconception may be based in part on a misunderstanding of positron emission tomography (PET) scans. Doctors use PET scans to help determine the location of a tumor and see if it has spread.

During a PET scan, your doctor injects a small amount of radioactive tracer — typically a form of glucose — into your body. All tissues in your body absorb some of this tracer. But tissues that are using more energy — exhibiting increased metabolic activity — absorb greater amounts.

Tumors are often more metabolically active than healthy tissues. As a result, they may absorb greater amounts of the tracer. For this reason, some people have concluded that cancer cells grow faster on sugar. But this isn't true."

One of the reasons we know this is false and cancer does not need suger is because if you remove sugar from your diet . . it won't slow the cancer down at all. An untreated cancer will continue to grow no matter if you eat sugar or not.

I'm sorry to hear that you're ill.

Eliminating sugar will not affect the cancer directly, but keeping a generally healthy diet is always a good idea when you're battling any disease (and when you're in good health too).

A tumor is simply a collection of abnormal cells. They're like any other cell in your body, except they don't grow, reproduce, or die like normal cells do. But they do use the same nutrients that the normal, healthy cells of your body use.

Ask your doctor if making any modifications to your diet would be beneficial to your health.

Take care.

In response to the other answer: yes, there has been a study that shows a link between a diet containing more meat and sugary foods and breast cancer RISK, but this is likely because such a diet increases the rate of obesity. It is extremely unlikely that these foods would have any affect on a pre-existing tumor.

sweets and dairy products and red meat have been proven to cause most cancers to thrive YES! I am very surprised that your doctor did not mention this to you and warn you of it. There are plenty of studies that say that these things increase the rate of growth in cancer the problem is for every genuine unbiased study performed by universities who have no particular funding and can be objective in their findings there are two or more funded by the beef producing and dairy industries that say otherwise what a coincidence then they by this manipulate the average findings GO figure!! I also wish you the best in your battle i think we can all agree on that sister. May God bless and keep you!

my oncologist has never mentioned any special diets either as far as sugar is concerned. I've come to the point that everything that you drink, eat, breathe,sleep or wear will cause cancer. i hope that you will do well with chemo. good luck and god bless!

Sugar is one of the worst things to put into your body. It is responsible for inflammation, which can slowly trigger cells to become cancerous. Sugar in any form is a culprit. Biochemically it matters not what form of suger-refined, raw, or from fruits or processed foods.