About Our Cover Model: Rachel Simson
By Annette Pinder
Rachel Simson is a clinical dietitian at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Roswell) where she focuses on the nutritional needs of leukemia, bone marrow transplant, and pediatric patients. She is also founder of BuffaloDietitian.com, loves all things food, fitness, and wellness, and does her best to help people live their healthiest lives. I’ve been following Rachel for several months on Instagram, and she captured my heart. Not only does she offer great advice and fabulous recipes, but she steers away from fad diets, is incredibly practical and down to earth, and loves shopping at Aldi. And, in the midst of it all, Rachel openly shares her life’s challenges, joys, and heartaches for others to learn from.
Rachel grew up in Hamburg, and recalls a great childhood. “I was happy, had many friends, swam, participated in track and field, was on the UB crew team, and participated in marathons and half-marathons.” However, she developed an eating disorder in high school. “I was anorexic, exercising excessively, and became frightened when I began losing my hair.” Knowing she had to address what she had allowed to happen, she worked toward modifying her behavior, and gained back her weight. The experience sparked her interest in nutrition, and led her to pursue a degree in sports nutrition at UB. However, she decided to change course and transfer to D’Youville University, where she received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree in Dietetics in 2011. Following graduation, Rachel worked at a 200-bed acute care facility in Florida, but returned to Buffalo and began working at Roswell.
At Roswell, Rachel helps meet the nutritional needs of patients, many of whom spend anywhere from four to six weeks in the hospital. Roswell patients often require nutritional screening, oral liquid nutrition supplementation, and help with foods that minimize their nausea from chemotherapy. “For example, we recommend that patients eat Greek yogurt for protein rather than a hot dog, and provide therapeutic diet guidance when appropriate. We educate patients about diets that are best for them,” says Rachel.
Another important aspect of caring for Roswell patients involves teaching them to adopt healthier diet and lifestyle choices that may prevent them from developing a secondary cancer in the future. She also works with a team of physicians and ancillary staff members to accommodate the needs of patients who are unable to ingest food by mouth and may require enteral or parenteral nutrition. “Many of these patients require intravenous nutrition and adjustments to their electrolytes. We get to know these patients well, and it is rewarding for all of us when we see patients walk out the door to begin their journey toward living a healthy life,” says Rachel.
Interviewing Rachel, I realized she had so much that she could teach me. Like many people, I struggle with maintaining a healthy diet and weight, and getting enough exercise. To find out how I could do better, I made an appointment with Rachel, during which we reviewed my daily routine, eating and exercise habits, medications, and supplements. Rachel provided me with easy meal and snack recommendations, tips on exercise, and meal preparation. At the conclusion of our session, I felt empowered in having an overall plan and, at her suggestion, ordered the book Intuitive Eating. Rachel followed up with a printout of everything we had discussed. Suddenly, I felt like I had a roadmap and compass toward achieving an improved and healthier life.
Rachel and her husband Dan, who she refers to as her best friend, live busy and vibrant lives, built their dream house together in 2018, and have one living child, Theodore, who is two years old, and two Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs named Daisy and Kona. The couple loves fitness, especially triathlons, and their favorite vacation destination is Lake Placid. Rachel enjoys red wine, coffee, peanut butter, murder mysteries, grocery shopping, especially at Aldi, and cooking.
Rachel and Dan have also had their share of heartache. Their second son, Lincoln, died when Rachel was nearly 20 weeks pregnant and went into preterm labor, and they had two other pregnancy losses. She shares these experiences on social media to help raise awareness of pregnancy loss and bring comfort to those who experience it. However, Rachel has since undergone a medical procedure to help her carry her pregnancy to term, and the couple is expecting a new baby in four months.
Learn more about Rachel and try some of her recipes at www.buffalodietitian.com. You can also check out some of her articles at https://www.roswellpark.org/cancertalk.
