The chef helping cancer patients rediscover a love of food

Ryan is a chef who runs free cooking classes for cancer patients. Aware that treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy can interfere with how someone tastes and enjoys food, 25-year-old Ryan has devised classes that try to bring the fun and love of food back into eating. He’s motivated by the memory of how his own mum suffered and lost her love of eating during the final months of her battle with cancer. Since starting the classes, some 500 people have attended. They've made a big difference to people like Colin, who says he lost his tastebuds almost straight away after starting cancer treatment - he could barely tolerate the taste of water at one stage. “They’re here to cook - and to open up at their discretion,” says Ryan. “They also tend to just have a really great time.”