Methods
Study Participants
Participants were parents and/or primary carers of childhood cancer patients aged between two and 18 years receiving active treatment for cancer in a major metropolitan paediatric tertiary referral hospital. There were no exclusions based on cancer type although all children (of the parents) were required to be receiving active treatment. Where a child was undergoing chemotherapy but more than two weeks into the maintenance stage of their treatment regimen, parents/carers were excluded. The aim of the study was to assess the diet quality of childhood cancer patients who were relying on oral intake to maintain their nutritional status. Only children consuming food orally were included in the study, with those on enteral or parenteral feeds excluded. The participants were required to be sufficiently fluent in English to complete the written questionnaire.