Nutrition literacy and dietary self-management in breast and gynecologic cancer survivorship.

Women living with and beyond breast cancer or a gynecologic malignancy frequently face a combined burden of endocrine disruption, treatment-related symptoms, psychological distress, fatigue, fear of recurrence, and conflicting dietary information. These factors may impair nutrition literacy, weaken confidence in dietary self-management, and reduce adherence to evidence-informed nutrition recommendations. This Mini Review examines the behavioral pathway linking psychological and educational barriers to dietary behaviors in women with breast and gynecologic malignancies. We focus on four interconnected domains: hormone-related emotional vulnerability and treatment-related symptom burden; anxiety, depression, fatigue, and fear of recurrence as drivers of avoidant or inconsistent eating behaviors; nutrition misconceptions and restrictive dietary beliefs that may increase malnutrition risk; and structured nutrition education as a self-management strategy. Existing guidelines support nutrition screening, individualized counseling, healthy dietary patterns, weight management, and physical activity as survivorship priorities, but implementation is often limited by low health literacy, fragmented communication, and insufficient psychosocial support. We propose that survivorship nutrition programs should integrate psychological screening, myth correction, plain-language nutrition literacy education, symptom-responsive meal planning, family involvement, and digital follow-up. Such behaviorally informed education should be evaluated using measurable outcomes, including dietary adherence, nutritional status, body weight and body composition, symptom control, quality of life, and sustained self-management across survivorship.